He was so overwhelmed by the sweetness that he felt weak all over. What was ginger juice compared to that?
He felt that he wouldn't even flinch if he were chewing raw bitter herbs right now.
****
On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, with New Year's Eve approaching, Luo Cuiwei took advantage of Yun Lie's entry into the palace and her absence from the Zhao Prince's residence to carefully consider the matter at home for most of the day, preparing a generous yet not excessive New Year's gift for the Zhao Prince's residence.
Afterwards, he gathered Xiahou Ling and Luo Fengming together to brainstorm and brainstorm how to propose to Yun Lie the matter of "borrowing a route through Linchuan" the next day.
To be absolutely sure, she even went to the main courtyard to find her father, Luo Huai, and subtly asked him for some tips on how to speak properly.
She had followed Luo Huai around the country since she was a child. Although she hadn't read many books, she was a shrewish and glib-tongued girl who had seen all kinds of people. Since she was sixteen years old and, under Luo Huai's arrangement, successfully negotiated her first business deal from start to finish on her own, it had been seven or eight years since she had to prepare her words in advance.
After all, whether the Luo family can bypass the Huang family's covert encirclement for two consecutive years and sweep away the major losses of the past two years depends on whether "borrowing the route through Linchuan" succeeds or fails.
For the past two weeks, she had racked her brains to lay the groundwork at Prince Zhao's residence. The results would be revealed tomorrow, and her feelings at this moment were no different from those of a student who had studied hard for ten years and was waiting for the results of the imperial examination, carrying the expectations of his entire family.
She wasn't entirely sure what the "chief examiner" Yun Lie would say.
After all, the risks for Yun Lie were not small. If he was not careful and failed to conceal his presence, someone could seize on this and make a big fuss about it, which would be difficult to handle.
Over the course of their time together, she developed a very positive impression of Yun Lie, the Prince Zhao's residence, and the Linchuan Army. These people were not only described by popular rumors as "upright, honest, brave, and resolute," but also warm, lively, generous, and righteous in private—pure individuals worthy of trust.
If the Luo family hadn't been in such a critical situation, she wouldn't have wanted to ask for help at all.
Born into a merchant family, she was never ashamed of calculating benefits that could make both parties mutually beneficial. Therefore, when she first thought of "borrowing a route through Linchuan" to solve an urgent problem, she calmly calculated that "fortune favors the bold." This cooperation would be "one harm but a hundred benefits" for both the Luo family and the Prince Zhao's mansion.
But she underestimated the fact that people are made of flesh and blood. After more than half a month of getting to know each other, not only did everyone in the Prince Zhao's mansion treat her as "one of their own," but she also considered them as friends.
“As the saying goes, ‘once the arrow is released, there’s no turning back,’” Xiahou Ling understood her thoughts perfectly and could only sigh and remind her, “Right now, the shopkeepers in various places are waiting for your reply… Cuiwei, the Luo family can’t afford to waste any more time.”
The shopkeepers, of course, had no idea what Luo Cuiwei was planning lately. They were simply following her instructions and waiting for her reply to decide whether to purchase the goods needed for the northern trade route in the spring, as they had done in previous years.
If her hesitation and distractions cause her to miss the opportunity, and the northern route remains stuck in Songyuan after these goods are acquired, then the heavy investment will be wasted for the third year; if she fails to secure the supply in time... having no goods to supply the Luo family would also be fatal.
Luo Cuiwei closed her eyes briefly and nodded heavily: "I understand."
"Borrowing a route through Linchuan," she had to give it her all, regardless of whether it succeeded or not.
****
That's how things are in this world most of the time. The principles are clear, but putting them into practice always presents many unexpected difficulties.
Even though Luo Cuiwei had tried her best to clear her mind of distractions and had repeatedly rehearsed in her mind what she would say, her tone, and her expression the next day—
How to weave a narrative to fully express the Luo family's predicament? What kind of smile conveys respect without being obsequious? What kind of tone of voice best conveys the sincerity of cooperation?
But she still had no confidence at all.
I was so nervous I wanted to roll on the floor and scream at the top of my lungs.
Seeing her sitting silently by the small brazier in the warm pavilion, wringing her handkerchief with a flushed face, Xiahou Ling chuckled, "Cuiwei, judging from your anxious and helpless appearance, you don't seem to be going to talk business with someone, but rather you seem to be asking for someone's hand in marriage."
"Huh? What marriage proposal?" Luo Cuiwei nervously raised her blushing face, her eyes blank like a helpless rabbit. "Who's proposing marriage?"
Xiahou Ling knew that she wouldn't listen to anything she said at this point, so she pursed her lips, sighed silently, poured her a cup of warm ginseng tea, and handed it to her to calm her down.
A moment later, Luo Fengming pushed open the door to the flower pavilion, poked half his body in, and said with delight, "Sister! We have a guest! It's that..."
"Guests are here, can't you entertain them yourself?" Luo Cuiwei nervously gripped her teacup, glaring at him angrily. "How old are you? Do I have to do such a small thing as entertaining guests?!"
Even if a deity descended to earth today, she wouldn't bother to look at him.
Luo Fengming knew she was nervous about what she had to do tomorrow, so he wasn't annoyed. He just scratched his head and said, "Oh, the guest originally wanted to greet you in person... then I'll say you're unwell and unable to see the guest."
"Whatever you want," Luo Cuiwei said shakily, taking a sip of ginseng tea. "As long as you don't say anything to my face, you can tell people whatever you want... Oh, by the way, who came?"
Luo Fengming was about to leave when she asked, so he quickly replied, "Gao Zhan."
Seeing his elder sister looking at him with surprise and confusion, he assumed she had forgotten the name, so he added, "Gao Zhan, the young master of the Duke of He's mansion. He said he came to wish us an early Happy New Year."
Not only did Luo Cuiwei's eyes widen in shock, but Xiahou Ling's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as well.
"What kind of nobleman's son would take the initiative to visit a merchant's house to offer New Year's greetings?!"
I have never seen anything so absurd and bizarre!
10. Chapter Ten
Since Gao Zhan had already "condescended" to personally visit her and made it clear that he wanted to greet Luo Cuiwei in person, she naturally had no choice but to show up.
However, she did not intend to get involved in Luo Fengming's network of connections. She only went to exchange pleasantries out of courtesy, so she did not deliberately change into a formal appearance. She went in simple clothes and without makeup.
After exchanging greetings, Gao Zhan wrinkled his nose slightly in embarrassment, his long eyelashes drooping shyly, and a smile played on his lips. "I drank a bit too much that day, did Sister Luo secretly laugh at me afterwards?"
He didn't mention Luo Cuiwei's fierce and shrewish behavior that day, and Luo Cuiwei didn't know how much he still remembered, so she could only cautiously smile and reply, "Young master is joking, no, not at all."
“What young master? I’m the same age as Feng Ming, and my friend’s older sister is my older sister too,” Gao Zhan smiled broadly, “Please call me by my name, sister.”
Luo Cuiwei was slightly taken aback. "This..." isn't quite right.
Before the words were even out of his mouth, Gao Zhan laughed and shouted, "If you don't agree, I'll roll around and cry outside your door, so everyone outside will know that the Luo family is bullying people!"
Luo Fengming glanced at his elder sister, then chuckled at Gao Zhan: "I say, you're supposed to be a young master from a prestigious family, how come you act like a mischievous monkey when you're being silly?"