Chapter 160: The Four Wealthy Female Merchants 14

"More than just interesting," Xue Ding frowned deeply. "In this subordinate's view, those two women are utterly rebellious and unheard of!"

Prince Ning closed his book and asked with considerable interest, "Oh? How so?"

Xue Ding reported truthfully, "This subordinate found out that Li Lingjing was cast aside by the Xie family and is temporarily staying here in the back mountains of the temple. Noticing that she frequently went out, I found it peculiar, so I sent a few little beggars to follow her and see why she went out so often. And where do you suppose she went every time she left? Ha, she actually went to meet the madam of the Oriole Tower!"

Prince Ning's interest grew even stronger. He smiled and asked, "What is this Li Lingjing doing, going to see the madam?"

"Unknown for now." Xue Ding showed a look of disdain and scoffed, "What decent woman would associate with a madam? The conversation those two had in the courtyard last time was also crude, vulgar, and disgraceful."

Prince Ning thought about it and found it quite amusing.

Logically speaking, whoever lived next door and whatever they chose to do had nothing to do with him. Yet, after hearing Xue Ding's account, a sudden urge arose within him to get to the bottom of it.

He beckoned to Xue Ding, "Arrange for a few men to find out what this Li Lingjing is up to."

Xue Ding's eyes widened instantly. "Your Highness, to have secret guards keep watch on a discarded woman... isn't that using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken?"

Ning Yuan laughed, "Just go and investigate. It will be far more reliable than employing those beggar children."

"But..." Xue Ding furrowed his brow in a dilemma, "All our men are deployed in the palace."

Although there was still no definitive proof, the Prince Ning's trusted aides all suspected that the mastermind behind the several assassination attempts was hiding within the imperial palace, and more likely... connected to the reigning emperor. Therefore, they had left numerous informants and secret guards in the palace to prevent being caught off guard if the mastermind made a move.

No matter how eccentric the woman next door was, to Xue Ding, it was a trivial matter not worth paying attention to, let alone mobilizing people for.

Thus, Ning Yuan's directive left Xue Ding thoroughly perplexed.

"Recall some of the people from the palace," Ning Yuan raised a finger, tapping the armrest of his wheelchair at a leisurely pace. "If the palace is truly behind this, they should know that the poison on those arrows has no antidote, unless the heir of the Medicine King is found. Leaving too many men to watch the palace serves little purpose, and instead easily leads them to believe I am uninjured, which might provoke further trouble."

"If they dare to cause more trouble, we'll wipe them all out in one sweep!" Xue Ding frowned. "Didn't Your Highness also say you wanted to help the emperor clean up the court?"

Ning Yuan smiled, "He is thirteen years old now; he can clean it up himself. This uncle of his only wants to recuperate properly right now and has no time to mind him."

Xue Ding opened his mouth, wanting to say more.

Ning Yuan glanced at him. "What are you still standing there for? Go investigate the two women next door, and the more thorough the investigation, the better."

Xue Ding: "............"

He couldn't help wondering if the Prince had taken a fancy to the woman next door. Which one had he taken a liking to? ...Perhaps he fancied both?

***

Li Lingjing had not returned to the mountain for three consecutive days, which made Shi Xianyu somewhat worried.

Aside from riding the sheep around the mountain, taking photographs, and gathering medicinal herbs, she spent all her remaining time in the room devouring books on marketing.

Li Lingjing wanted to do business. After much thought, Shi Xianyu concluded that reading and studying more was the only way she could be of any help. However, these books were heavy on theory and light on practical examples, making them rather tough to digest.

On her way back, she ran into Ding Er from next door. He was stepping out in a hurried manner. Upon seeing her return, his expression changed instantly. Though his pace did not slow down, his formidable aura suddenly retracted, becoming much less sharp. He even lowered his gaze and smiled at her politely, looking like an honest and loyal domestic servant.

Shi Xianyu: "............"

She silently withdrew her gaze and walked straight back to her room.

She felt that the master and servant next door were rather strange. The scholar looked gentle and refined, yet his attendant was fierce... No wonder Li Lingjing had warned her at the beginning not to open the door lightly.

Shi Xianyu couldn't help thinking: that scholar was in poor health, and now that his only servant had gone out, wasn't there currently no one to take care of him?

She wondered what his servant had gone to do. Hopefully, he would return quickly, otherwise, if the scholar grew thirsty or hungry, there wouldn't even be a helper by his side.

Although she knew this matter had nothing to do with her, Shi Xianyu still felt a bit concerned. That afternoon while reading, she deliberately dragged a chair out into the courtyard and sat there to read her marketing theory book. That way, if there were any commotion next door, she would be able to hear it.

Opening the pages, her mind gradually calmed, and she began to seriously read the so-called Marketing 4P Theory: Place, Product, Price, and Promotion.

Ancient times were not like modern society, which possessed a wide variety of distribution channels, so Shi Xianyu focused primarily on the remaining three points: product, price, and promotion.

The explanation regarding the product was quite interesting. It did not refer to a tangible commodity in a concrete sense, but rather to anything that could be used and consumed to satisfy certain human needs, including tangible products, services, personnel, organizations, ideas, or a combination thereof.

In other words, from a marketing perspective, a product was a comprehensive entity.

If Li Lingjing wanted to open a pleasure house, she not only had to provide solid, fine wine, delicious food, and visibly attractive young women, but also allow guests to enjoy a more upscale experience. Ideally, Li Lingjing's establishment should even convey some unique philosophy—in other words, corporate culture.

Only when this philosophy or culture gained the recognition and trust of the guests could this business endure for a long time.

Shi Xianyu read through several chapters. Though she didn't fully understand it all, she was deeply impressed.

Doing business was truly no easy task!

She turned the page and continued reading.

Thud—

A sound came from the courtyard next door. She paused and turned her head to look.

Naturally, nothing could be seen through the courtyard wall, and then she heard the scholar call out, "Ding Er."

Shi Xianyu: "............"

Realizing that his attendant was absent, the scholar had probably only called out once.

Shi Xianyu guessed that something must have fallen over there. However, sitting in a wheelchair, even if he wanted to pick it up, he could only endure until his attendant returned.

She continued reading.

As she read, her thoughts drifted back next door once more...

She was still a bit worried.

Should she go take a look? A slight effort on her part might be of great help to someone else... Of course, it was also possible that this book was simply too tedious.

Shi Xianyu put down her book and tiptoed to the base of the wall. This height was not easy to climb directly. Spotting the apricot blossom tree nearby, she resorted to her old trick, grabbing onto the branches of the apricot tree and hoisting herself up the wall—

Though she was extremely careful, the branches still shook slightly, making a rustling sound.

Startled by the noise, the person in the courtyard looked up and asked with a smile in his eyes, "Dear Daoist, are you here to pluck flowers again?"

Shi Xianyu blinked. Her gaze shifted from his face down to his feet, where a teacup lay overturned, spilling tea and wetting the ground, with a few pill-like objects scattered beside it.

"Need any help?" she asked, peering over the top of the wall.