The heavens set sail from the courtyard

Since the last murder, Li's Teahouse has been doing very bad business and is losing money every day. The Li family decided to close the teahouse first to reduce the losses and then find a solution.

The Li sisters got together and decided to go to the market to see what was selling well. This is called market research, which Wang Gang once told Li Shouhua.

Because they were women and it was inconvenient for them to go out, the sisters wore veils and brought maids with them to avoid causing trouble.

Sanniang Kangning and Siniang Haode went to the restaurant together to find out what food was the most delicious in Bianjing City.

Aunt Li Shouhua originally wanted to go shopping in the market with her fifth sister, but Li Leshan didn't want to be with her eldest sister at all, and she ran away soon.

Li Shouhua vaguely guessed what Li Leshan was bothered about, but she couldn't find a chance to communicate properly with her sister. She could only wait until she finished her work in the store and then talk to her fifth sister alone.

After Wang Kang returned, she immediately wrote a letter to her husband who was far away in Yangzhou, but it would take at least a month for her to receive a reply.

During this month, Wang Gang had a rare moment of peace as he no longer had to listen to Wang Kang nagging about marriage.

Wang Kang still kept in touch with Madam Li privately, and their sisterly relationship was not affected by their children's marriage.

Having not seen each other for more than 20 years, both of them recalled their childhood days and had many emotions, so they got together often. Mrs. Li could only leave the business of the store to her five daughters.

Li Shouhua walked around the market and found that the city of Bianjing was rich in supplies and had everything available in the market, but there were not many real high-quality products and most of them had to be found in those old shops.

However, those merchants generally serve the powerful and wealthy, and their products are not only expensive, but also relatively simple.

For example, rouge and powder must be bought from the shops in the east of the city, while pearl hairpins and jewelry must be bought from the west of the city. As for calligraphy and painting bookstores, they are in the north of the city.

Li Shouhua thought to himself that when his family opened a tea shop in the future, they could also sell other things, such as women's jewelry, men's calligraphy and paintings, and so on.

"Lord Wang once mentioned that this is called diversified operations."

Li Shouhua didn't realize it at this time, she kept thinking of what Wang Gang had said.

Because Wang Kang and Madam Li often met, Li Shouhua sometimes went to Wang's house to pick up his mother and happened to meet Wang Gang, and they would exchange a few words.

The two mothers saw this and thought that the couple had grown in love and wanted to stay together, so they tried to help them and delay the process.

Wang Gang naturally saw through their purpose, but he didn't care. Li Shouhua was indeed a well-educated and well-mannered woman. She was very proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, so she didn't feel bored when chatting with them.

Li Shouhua's opinion of Wang Gang has also changed a lot. It may be that the last frank conversation made Li Shouhua less guarded against Wang Gang.

The more Li Shouhua came into contact with Wang Gang, the more he understood his abilities. From astronomy and geography to market making, Wang Gang was good at everything, and Li Shouhua unconsciously wanted to communicate with him.

After a few interactions, the two became more familiar with each other, which made their parents happy.

Li Shouhua walked around the market and had an idea in mind. She was ready to go back and discuss with her sisters how to improve their livelihood, but she didn't expect to be stopped by a young man.

The man was none other than Yang Xian. He had been looking for the Li family for several days, and today he finally blocked Li Shouhua on the street.

"You are the lady of the Li family from Luoyang." Yang Xian was not polite and stretched out his big hand to stop Li Shouhua.

Li Shouhua took a step back, and his maid Xiao Cui went around to the front to block Yang Xian.

"How dare you, a pervert, stop my young lady?"

Yang Xian said impatiently: "Are you the lady from the Li family? Take off your veil quickly."

Xiao Cui became anxious and protected Li Shouhua as she retreated.

"Miss, be careful." Li Shouhua remained calm and said, "Sir, you have the wrong person. I am not the lady of the Li family."

Although he didn't know Yang Xian, Li Shouhua knew that he was a difficult character to deal with because of his luxurious clothes and arrogant demeanor. He didn't want to get entangled with him, so he lied on purpose.

Yang Xian was not fooled and said, "If you are not, why don't you take off your veil and let me see."

Li Shouhua said hurriedly: "Young Master, you are so rude."

Yang Xian said arrogantly: "Don't worry, young lady. Although I, Yang Xian, am not a good person, I will not do anything to tease you. I am just looking for the lady of the Li family. If you are not, you can leave."

Li Shouhua was sure that she had never seen Yang Xian. She thought that her sister might have offended the person in front of her, so she did not dare to lift the veil.

Just when she was in a dilemma, Wang Gang's voice came from behind.

"Mr. Yang, how come you are in the mood to go shopping today?"

Wang Gang, dressed in tight clothes and with a sword on his waist, came with a group of people.

"You are from Kaifeng Prefecture." Yang Xian felt that Wang Gang looked familiar. He couldn't remember where he had seen him before, but he could see that behind him were all Kaifeng Prefecture officials.

"Mr. Yang, I am Wang Gang, the left army inspector of Kaifeng Prefecture. We have met before in Panlou. You are so busy that you may have forgotten." Wang Gang clasped his fists.

Yang Xian suddenly said: "I remember now, you are Chai An's friend, and we once had a drink together."

Wang Gang pointed at Li Shouhua and said, "Mr. Yang, this is my friend. I don't know how she offended you. I want to apologize to you."

"Friend!?" Yang Xian glanced at Li Shouhua and asked, "Is your friend's surname Li?"

"I heard that Mr. Yang has been looking for someone recently. Could it be that he is looking for the lady from the Li family?" Wang Gang deliberately spoke loudly so that Li Shouhua could hear it.

Yang Xian snorted coldly, "I found out that the wife of the Li family beat my cousin Yang Jiulang, and I was just thinking of settling the score with her. You are the left army inspector of Kaifeng Prefecture, and you have the power to inspect Bianjing. You should know the Li family!"

Li Shouhua was shocked, and suddenly remembered that his fifth sister Li Leshan ran home in a panic a few days ago. It must be the trouble that happened at that time!
Wang Gang gave Li Shouhua a look, asking her to be patient, then turned to Yang Xian and said:
"I actually know about this. On that day, Yang Jiulang flirted with the Li family's wife in the street and was beaten up. Many people saw it and it almost ended up in court."

“Humph.” Yang Xian said arrogantly: “Although my Yang family members are certainly at fault, they are not something that a small merchant’s daughter can beat.”

Wang Gang smiled and said, "Of course, it's just that Yang Jiulang always bullies men and women under the banner of the Yang family, and the people are very resentful. If it really goes to Kaifeng Prefecture, will it affect the reputation of the Yang family?"

Yang Xian paused when he heard this, but still said stubbornly: "Let's see who dares to go to Kaifeng Prefecture to sue our Yang family."

Wang Gang said: "I heard that the current emperor loves the people like his own children and hates the powerful oppressing the good. If the Yang family loses the lawsuit, will it affect the Empress in the palace and make the emperor hate it?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xian looked at Wang Gang deeply.

"Lord Wang has a close relationship with the Li family! He would rather offend my Yang family than protect the Li family!"

Although Yang Xian was a playboy, he was not stupid. Wang Gang spoke so bluntly, so of course he understood his purpose.

Wang Gang clasped his fists and said, "Mr. Yang, please forgive me. As the saying goes, it is better to resolve a feud than to create one. It is wrong for the lady of the Li family to hit Yang Jiulang, but after all, there must be a reason. I hope Mr. Yang will be magnanimous. I am willing to compensate Yang Jiulang for some medicine and resolve the grudge."

Yang Xian said coldly: "Does my Yang family need money?"

Wang Gang's smile faded when he heard this! (End of this chapter)