Chapter 152: Welcoming Guests at the Hot Spring Manor
Consort De cast a cold glance at Xie Ping.
The fact that she didn't have Xie Ping thrown out was a demonstration of her magnanimity as an imperial consort, not an indication that she accepted Xie Ping as her daughter-in-law.
Her warm conversation with Consort Shi didn't mean she actually liked Consort Shi either.
How could she possibly like these two women? One had schemed her way into the position of Princess Consort, while the other was merely a choice made out of necessity.
The Xie family claimed to be of humble origins and provided no dowry, which was bad enough.
But the Shi family was even more ridiculous. Lady Shi, fearing she might outshine the main consort, had prepared only a meager dowry following the Xie family's example.
By showing favor to Consort Shi, Consort De was merely pressuring the Shi family to produce the dowry that rightfully belonged to their daughter.
"There's a new hot spring manor in the outskirts of the capital. In a few days, you shall accompany me to soak in the hot spring pools," Consort De said with a smile. "I've heard these hot springs are particularly beneficial for women's health. You should soak frequently so you can soon bear Fourth Prince a child—that's what truly matters."
Consort Shi found herself in an awkward position, neither able to accept nor refuse the invitation.
Xie Ping was grinding her teeth in silent fury.
How dare Consort De let a mere Side Princess Consort get pregnant when she, the main Princess Consort, hadn't even conceived yet!
But she didn't dare express her dissatisfaction, forcing herself to maintain a smiling facade.
By the time Consort De took Consort Shi to the hot spring manor, the establishment had already become widely known among most of the capital's residents.
"I heard there's a hot spring manor in the suburbs called 'Above Chu Cloud,' even larger than the imperial hot springs."
"If it's bigger than the imperial hot springs, why hasn't it been offered to the Emperor?"
"The hot spring is quite distant from the capital. Even if offered to the Emperor, he'd rarely visit. Besides, I heard Prince Pingxi owns this hot spring manor. The Emperor, as his father, surely wouldn't seize his son's property."
"A hot spring manor opened by royalty is meant for noble families' entertainment. Common folks like us have no place there. We can only watch from the sidelines."
"You're mistaken. My cousin works there as a laborer. He told me long ago that the hot spring at Above Chu Cloud is exceptionally large, so it's divided into two sections—one exclusively for noble families, and the other featuring an enormous open-air hot spring pool where commoners can enjoy themselves for just a few coins."
"Really? Common people can soak in hot springs too?"
"Absolutely true. If you don't believe me, let's go see for ourselves."
"..."
The concept of dividing the manor into two sections was Yun Chu's idea.
While the wealthy could enjoy hot springs, ordinary people with some spare money naturally wanted to experience them too.
For the affluent, they built private pools and courtyards with strong privacy at higher prices.
For commoners, there was a large open-air hot spring pool separated by gender. Though cheaper individually, the sheer number of common visitors generated substantial daily revenue.
After the ice shop closed, Above Chu Cloud Hot Spring Manor opened for business.
Under the collaboration between Cheng Zhuangzhu and Chen Defu, the hot spring manor gained fame throughout the capital on its very first day.
The private courtyards required advance reservations, already booked through the end of the year, with deposits exceeding ten thousand taels of silver.As for the ordinary hot spring pools, the price was quite affordable. Even in the depths of winter, it only cost two hundred copper coins per person. Now that it was just the beginning of autumn, the price was naturally even cheaper—eighty copper coins would allow one to experience the sensation of soaking in a hot spring. As a result, throughout the day, the entrance to the hot spring manor was bustling with a continuous stream of people.
Although the two manors were separated only by a single wall, both sides of the wall were planted with extensive peach blossoms, and their gates faced opposite directions, ensuring they did not interfere with each other.
Ting Shuang brought the account books from the first half-month of operation to the Xie residence and carefully reported on the recent situation at the manor.
Yun Chu listened and nodded. With Cheng Zhuangzhu’s decisive actions and Chen Bo’s meticulous attention to detail, everything at the hot spring manor was running smoothly. Of course, the main reason was that the manor’s true owner was Prince Pingxi. With the prince, whose name struck fear into the hearts of countless bandits, no one dared to cause any trouble.
"Madam, something happened the day before yesterday," Ting Shuang began. "Yuan Fei from the palace, with the Empress’s permission, left the palace and specifically brought people to the hot spring manor. When she passed by your small courtyard, she wanted to go in and take a look. Cheng Zhuangzhu stopped her, but Yuan Fei slapped him across the face and then proceeded to enter your courtyard to soak in the hot spring pool…"
Yun Chu was not at all surprised by this incident.
Her small courtyard was unlike any other, adorned with rare flowers and plants at the entrance and embedded with colorful stones in the pool. Originally, the courtyard had been filled with crabapple blossoms, but because Yun Chu disliked them, Prince Pingxi had ordered them replaced with orchids and jasmine. Such a unique courtyard was bound to attract Yuan Fei’s attention.
Ting Feng exclaimed in astonishment, "Does Yuan Fei not know that the manor belongs to Prince Pingxi? How dare she barge into a courtyard that clearly does not welcome guests?"
"Yuan Fei thought the courtyard was prepared by the prince for Yin Pin," Ting Shuang explained. "Considering herself of higher status than Yin Pin and being the mother of the Sixth Prince, why would she fear Prince Pingxi? While Yuan Fei was soaking in the hot spring, Cheng Zhuangzhu brought Prince Pingxi to the manor. The prince arrived with two elderly maids, who completely disregarded Yuan Fei’s dignity and dragged her out of the pool…"
Ting Xue covered her mouth in shock. "Prince Pingxi is far too bold…"
Even Yun Chu was taken aback.
Although Yuan Fei was no longer a favored consort in the harem, she was still one of the Four Consorts, the emperor’s woman, and had borne him princes and princesses. Prince Pingxi’s actions not only humiliated Yuan Fei but also trampled upon the emperor’s dignity.
However, many days had passed, and she had not heard of any major incidents in the harem. It seemed Yuan Fei had not escalated the matter. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the emperor had chosen to side with Prince Pingxi over Yuan Fei, and the matter had been quietly suppressed.
Yun Chu changed the subject. "Ting Shuang, take these fifty thousand taels of silver to Chen Bo and have him commission the construction of a large seafaring vessel."
Ting Shuang asked in surprise, "Madam, what is this for?"
"Once the ship is ready, I plan to engage in overseas trade."
She could not place all her hopes of earning silver solely on the hot spring manor. If anything were to go wrong, she would lose everything.
She recalled that in her previous life, some merchants had traveled overseas and brought back exotic marine goods to sell in the capital, each earning immense profits.Novelties from overseas were always the most sought-after goods in the capital. Merchants without ships could only source goods from traveling traders, cutting their profits in half. It was far better to build their own ships, procure goods directly, and transport them nationwide.
Ting Shuang nodded and went to carry out the orders.
Yun Chu tallied her savings: the ice business had netted a pure profit of 230,000 taels. Nearly 20,000 had been spent on renovating the hot spring manor, 50,000 given to her father, and 50,000 allocated for shipbuilding. She still had 110,000 taels left—a substantial sum by any family’s standards.
She tapped the abacus and said, "Ting Shuang, look for a quiet and elegant two- or three-courtyard residence in the capital. Buy it before winter and hire skilled craftsmen to refurbish it properly."
Once the matters with the Xie family were settled, she would need a place to live.
Although she could return to the Yun family—her elder brother and sister-in-law wouldn’t object—staying too long might lead to unnecessary complications.
Ting Shuang noted everything down.
Just then, a servant came to report that the eldest young lady had returned.
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