Chapter 361: Chapter 362: All Suffered Losses

As expected, Old Mrs. Ning’s brow furrowed tightly. "Where did you hear this news? Is it accurate?"

"Shangjing may be large, but an official family that has had two funerals in a row is easy enough to ask about. If you don’t believe me, Mother, you can take some people and investigate yourself," Fang Yuan said with a sigh.

"I’m not saying I want to stop my husband from taking a concubine, but there are plenty of women from good families in the world. There’s no need to bring a widow like her into our home.

Besides, if he gets promoted in a few years, having a widow in the family will become a stain on his reputation. Mother, you should think it over!"

After speaking, Fang Yuan turned and left the main room. ’I need to go back and think things through. If I can’t stop this Niu Widow from entering the family, I have to find a way to protect myself and my children.’

Old Mrs. Ning summoned her personal servant woman, grabbed her cane, and quickly left the house.

That night, after the family had finished dinner, she kept Ning Yuchen behind alone.

"Did you know that the Xiao Family’s daughter is a widow?"

"Yes," Ning Yuchen replied, not thinking he could hide it anyway. "I knew."

"And that she’s newly widowed and still in mourning?"

"..."

Hearing no answer from her son, Old Mrs. Ning felt a surge of fire rise within her. "How dare you bring such an unfaithful and unfilial woman into this family! Go and call off this match right now."

"I can’t," Ning Yuchen said, feeling disgusted with the situation himself. He had originally planned to scheme against Ancient Wenheng, hoping to watch him become a laughingstock, but now he was the one caught in a dilemma.

"What do you mean you can’t? She’s just a lowly concubine. We simply won’t take her." She had thought they were getting a noble lady from a prominent family, not someone with such a convoluted background. "The illegitimate daughter of a mere seventh-rank county magistrate, and a widow at that? She is not worthy of my son."

"But her legitimate older sister is the Third Young Madam of the Huang family. This whole affair happened at the Huang Mansion, and Minister Huang and his family are all aware of it. If I back out now, not only will I offend the entire Huang family, but I’ll also gain a reputation for being untrustworthy."

"Then what should we do?" All her previous joy was gone, and now Old Mrs. Ning only wished she could get rid of this problem as quickly as possible.

"For now, our only choice is to bring her in first. Otherwise, I’ll be ostracized in my official career," Ning Yuchen said, exaggerating the severity of the situation to prevent his mother from causing another scene.

"In that case, I am still the one in charge of this household, correct?"

"Of course." Seeing his mother concede, Ning Yuchen quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then don’t touch the two children’s rooms. After all, she’s only a concubine. How could she possibly rank higher than the legitimate son and daughter?

Also, go and negotiate with the Huang family. I won’t make an issue of her being a new widow in mourning, but she cannot enter our home with the rites of a noble concubine. Just use the rites for a lowly concubine."

"The Huang family will never agree to that." Ning Yuchen didn’t dare mention that they had originally demanded the status of an equal wife, and it was only through his strenuous arguments that they had settled for a noble concubine.

"Then go and tell them that there are no auspicious days for a wedding anytime soon. We’ll welcome her into the family next year."

In Old Mrs. Ning’s mind, the widow was already in deep mourning. If the ceremonies weren’t completed within a hundred days, she would undoubtedly have to observe the full three years of mourning.

After three years, who would even remember this little widow? They could just give her some silver taels and send her away.

Ning Yuchen wanted to object, but his mother simply pushed him out the door. "You will get this done tomorrow."

Ning Yuchen was speechless.

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***

Jin Qianqian was being exceptionally generous with her silver taels this time. She kept piling on more and more; if a seller wasn’t satisfied, she would just keep adding to the offer. Several brokers had already found the specific shops she was looking for.

At the cosmetics shop, she brought in a batch of newly produced handmade soaps for limited supply, and the store was instantly swarmed with customers.

At the bookstore, she posted a notice at the entrance announcing a paid call for creative manuscripts, immediately attracting scholars and literary men.

At the general store, she displayed the toys that artisans had been working day and night to produce. What parent with a child at home could possibly walk away?

...

By the end of the month, Qingzhu and the others held the account books, grinning from ear to ear. The Madam was quiet when she made no move, but when she did, it was astonishing. In just one month, they had already earned back half their initial investment.

Meanwhile, the Xiao Family mother and daughter stared at their own account books, unable to believe their eyes.

"What is wrong with you all? Have you been sitting around doing nothing for the entire month?

Two copper coins in a single day—how dare you even record that in the ledgers!"

Tian Lanfang was on the verge of slamming the table, and the fury in her voice made all the shopkeepers lower their heads.

"This is outrageous! Manager Liu, you tell me what’s going on. Nothing major happened at the cosmetics shop this month, so how did it end up losing money?" The ledger clutched in Xiao Shiyu’s hand was for the most profitable of her dowry shops.

After this past month, it seemed she would have to pay the wages out of her own pocket.

"Madam, it’s really that new shop across the street. They have a connection to get those new handmade soaps. But they aren’t selling them directly. Instead, they’re bundling them. If you buy a certain amount of cosmetics, they give you a handmade soap for free. A lot of people have gone over there for that."

Xiao Shiyu had watched her mother and uncle do business since she was a child, and she immediately spotted a flaw in his explanation. "That can’t be why you have zero customers. Surely some people just buy a few cosmetics here and there?"

Manager Liu’s face was grim. "That’s the problem. The rival shop said customers can register their purchases. Even if it takes them a whole year to reach the required amount, they’ll still get the free gift."

It might not seem like much, but by accumulating purchases, a customer could still redeem one or two handmade soaps a year. It was a chance to get something for free. ’If it were me,’ she thought, ’I’d be tempted too.’

"What about the bookstore?" Tian Lanfen asked, staring at the bookstore’s shopkeeper. "Did you not sell even a single sheet of paper?"

There were so many scholars in Shangjing; the monthly consumption of paper was nothing to scoff at. To have not a single transaction was just too absurd. "Did another one open across the street? Are they also giving things away?"

To her surprise, the shopkeeper actually nodded. "They did open one. But they aren’t giving anything away. They’re holding a writing contest. All the scholars are buying their paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones from them to get noticed and make it easier to sell their works in the future."

"Yes, Madam! And at my shop, they put all those toys in a prominent spot right at the entrance. They’re also giving away toys with purchases. People are going crazy, they’re all flooding the rival shop!"

"And my fabric shop..."

The more the mother-daughter duo listened, the more solemn their expressions became. No matter how slow-witted they were, they knew they were being targeted.

"Mother, I know who it is," Xiao Shiyu said through clenched teeth. "Besides that woman with the surname Jin, there’s no one else who could be giving away handmade soap."

Everyone knew by now that Mrs. Gu Jin had a soap workshop and had even been designated an Imperial Merchant. Only she would have the resources to pull off something like this.

"What is she trying to do? So what if we tried to make her husband take a concubine? It didn’t even happen, did it?" Tian Lanfen felt a tightness in her chest. For the sake of that illegitimate girl, she had really gotten herself into a mess this time.

"She must hold a grudge against us. I never thought she’d be so jealous. To think she’d turn around and target us... If she has a problem, she should go after the person responsible!"

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