After rebirth, His Highness Xinshu was pampered by me.

Chapter 482 Secrets Cannot Be Hidden
With the twelfth prince 'defending' Lin Shun, Jinse was able to naturally face Lin Shun, whose attitude had suddenly become strange.

Moreover, when Lin Shun was seen again a few days later, he had indeed returned to his usual self.

This made Jinse believe the twelfth prince's words even more.

Only Lin Shun, in private, looked utterly aggrieved when facing the Twelfth Prince.

The twelfth prince glared at Lin Shun with annoyance: "You know how meticulous Sister Jinse is. You always have that strange expression when you meet her. Are you afraid she won't think anything of it?"

He clearly instructed that those matters should not be revealed to Jinse for the time being.

Lin Shun looked even more aggrieved: "Your Highness knows me too. Sometimes I just can't keep things to myself, and..."

Unfortunately, when His Highness and Lin Yi were talking about those things, he was asked to stand aside and listen.

"Are you still aggrieved?"

The twelfth prince was speechless. After a moment, he earnestly lectured Lin Shun: "You've never been able to control your mouth since you were little. You always blurt things out. Consider this a training opportunity for you. Just remember, before things become clear, you must not tell her about this. Do you understand?"

Lin Shun hesitated for a long time, and under the fixed gaze of the Twelfth Prince, he reluctantly nodded.

Jinse, still completely unaware of everything, continues to live her busy but ordinary life.

The capital city, however, has become quite lively lately, perhaps due to the triennial selection of imperial merchants.

When Jinse went out of the mansion and onto the street again, she could clearly feel that there were more stalls set up everywhere on the bustling streets, and that the big merchants were constantly introducing new products and services, with many new and interesting things becoming popular in all aspects of life, including food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

Even someone as frugal as Jinse couldn't resist buying a lot of things on the street after her trip.

Back at the manor, Jinse showed the twelfth prince all the novelties she had bought.

"I've heard that merchants of all sizes have been arriving in the capital recently. And today I even saw quite a few foreign merchants among them. Your Highness, look, this little thing was bought from one of those foreign merchants' stalls. It's said to be able to tell time and be used as an hourglass."

Jinse opened the cover of a pocket watch hanging on a silver chain, showing the twelfth prince the ticking hands inside, her face full of curiosity.

The twelfth prince took it, glanced at it, and then casually fiddled with it a couple of times.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen something like this, so it wasn't anything particularly rare to him.

Seeing that Jinse liked it, he handed it back to her: "This thing looks quite small and is suitable for carrying around. Sister Jinse is busy every day, so having this will allow her to know the time at any time. It's quite good."

Jinse exclaimed and explained, "This servant was thinking of buying it for Your Highness to use on a daily basis. Your Highness still needs to study every day and doesn't want to miss the time. With this, you can know the time at any time, which is very convenient..."

The twelfth prince chuckled, "I always have Lin Shun with me, he's very accurate with the time, so this thing isn't that useful to me. Sister Jinse, just take it."

Seeing that Jinse still seemed hesitant, he thought for a moment and added, "Besides, didn't Sister Jinse say that merchants from all over have come to the capital? Who knows, we might be able to buy another one someday."

That makes sense.

Jinse thought about it and nodded in acceptance.

After looking at the strange things, Jinse remembered to ask, "Although the court is now re-evaluating the imperial merchants, I remember that the imperial merchants of that year were all business giants, and those small merchants were basically nowhere to be found. So why are there still so many merchants coming to the capital?"

Small merchants from within the Great Sheng Kingdom have come, as have foreign merchants and other foreign businessmen...

What's the point?

When the imperial merchants are selected, how can we possibly choose those foreign merchants or those from other regions?
Jinse said she couldn't understand it. The twelfth prince, however, just smiled.

"Although they don't have the title of imperial merchant, commercial activities have been frequent lately. Even small merchants or foreign merchants can make a profit as long as they find the right connections, even if they can't become imperial merchants."

Merchants pursue profit, but that profit isn't just about the biggest one.

Jinse nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

After thinking for a while, he asked the twelfth prince, "Then, could our bookstore take this opportunity to do some promotions or something?"

But... unlike other shops, what kind of promotions would be suitable for a bookstore?

The twelfth prince shook his head indifferently.

"Our bookstore doesn't need to join in this fun."

After all, it's a bookstore. If it were during the triennial exam season, when students from all over the country would flock to the capital, the bookstore could hold some events. But there's no need for that now.

Besides, he doesn't really rely on the profits from that bookstore to support his family.

Besides, Jinse is already quite busy managing the bookstore and household affairs, so why would she need to create more trouble for herself?

Jinse was quite eager to join in the fun.

But since the twelfth prince said he didn't need it, she couldn't come up with any good ideas for the time being, so she could only give up: "Alright then."

Seeing that Jinse was in low spirits, the Twelfth Prince comforted her, "Although our bookstore doesn't make huge profits, our monthly earnings are quite stable. For the time being, the manor doesn't lack anything, so Sister Jinse doesn't need to worry so much."

That being said...

Jinse nodded, though she had some plans in mind, she didn't say anything more.

In the days that followed, Jinse remained as busy as ever, occasionally visiting other bookstores and paper shops to inquire about their activities.

After looking around, Jinse had to admit that what the twelfth prince said made sense.

Other bookstores also rarely take the opportunity to hold any promotions; even if one or two do, the results are usually mediocre.

However, the bookstore can't hold any events anymore.

But Jinse eventually found some other way out.

After visiting several paper and ink shops, Jinse discovered that there was still considerable room for maneuver in the areas of paper, ink, and book printing.

For example, a paper and ink shop owned by a merchant from the south in the capital recently produced a new type of paper. The materials used to make this paper are different from those used before. Although the paper is not as smooth as usual, the ink absorption and paper toughness are not bad.

The key point is that the price of this newly made paper is a full one-sixth cheaper than usual.

When the twelfth prince opened his bookstore, he mainly sold hardcover books, using high-quality paper, ink, and binding materials.

That's certainly a good thing.

However, Jinse had often encountered poor students who came to the bookstore, browsed around, and found themselves unable to buy a single book due to their lack of funds.