After the marriage, the cousin was spoiled by the whole family of the Marquis's Mansion

Chapter 53 The confusing truth

Just as Rong Peilan expected, the rumors about Xinling Marquis' Mansion became more and more intense, and grain shops in the city sprang up everywhere like mushrooms after a rain.

Five new stores opened in South City alone.

Manager Zhou was busier than before, and the original warehouse was not enough, so the Zhong family allocated some money for them to build a new granary.

Manager Zhou went from being the manager of Xiangxiangyuan to the manager of a mysterious grain merchant.

It was clearly the autumn harvest season, but no one could buy much grain at the newly opened grain store.

Someone took a different approach and bribed the manager of Zhong's grain shop and found a grain merchant from Fengyang.

At this time, the owner of a grain shop who wanted to get a piece of the pie found out that all the grain in Yanjing had been collected by him!

No wonder they ran all over Yanjing but didn’t receive any food!

When Manager Zhou came back with the account book, the wrinkles on his face were filled with smiles.

"Madam, the grain we have produced in the past few days is more than what we sell ourselves!"

Even though it was gradually entering late autumn, he was still sweating profusely. He did not even bother to wipe the sweat off his face and placed the booklet in front of the young lady with an excited look on his face.

"Young Madam made a wise decision! I estimate that this autumn's sales will be twice as much as last year's!"

Rong Peilan opened the booklet. Although the profit was thin, the shop received more grain, so the more sales, the more profit, so naturally the sales were more than in previous years.

She closed the book and said, "Manager Zhou, we need to save some grain for distributing porridge this winter."

The smile on Manager Zhou's face disappeared. "Young Madam, people in the city are now criticizing our mansion. I, Old Zhou, would rather feed this food to dogs than give it to these ungrateful wolves!"

Rong Peilan picked up the teacup and glanced at the indignant Steward Zhou, "Steward Zhou, what is the reputation of the Marquis' Mansion now?"

Manager Zhou paused for a moment, thinking of those unfounded rumors, his face darkened, "They are now saying that the Marquis' Mansion... is just a false name. We have monopolized the rice grains and made a fortune from the people. Doing good deeds is just to cover up the truth that we are only interested in profit..."

She lowered her eyes and looked at the tea leaves floating in the teacup. "Who are they? The people of Yanjing City are just a knife in the hands of some people that kills without bloodshed."

"This knife can hurt others, and it can also hurt yourself."

She looked at the confused face of Manager Zhou again, and the corners of her lips curved slightly, "We in the Marquisate have always been consistent. If we stop distributing porridge and clothes this year, wouldn't it confirm the rumors that we are just people seeking fame and reputation?"

"You arrange it first. These knives will fall on them sooner or later."

Manager Zhou looked at the calm and composed Madam and finally nodded, "Madam, I admire you. Whether it was the rice case in Jingzhao Yin a few months ago or the large-scale purchase of grains now, I admire you very much. If you are good at what you say, I will stay!"

Rong Peilan was amused by Manager Zhou's sudden enthusiasm. "Manager Zhou, the shop assistants have worked hard these days. Here are two hundred taels of silver notes. Buy some wine and meat for the assistants as a reward."

Haitang, who had been standing aside, immediately took out two silver bills from her sleeve pocket and handed them over.

"This..." Manager Zhou felt a little embarrassed. It was not that he had never received rewards before, but he had never received so much. The young lady even took care of the servants under her.

"It's given by the young lady, so just take it. It's not for you alone." Haitang stuffed the banknote into the hand of Manager Zhou.

Manager Zhou looked at the banknote in his hand and smiled, "Okay, then I will accept the young lady's kindness on behalf of the guys!"

After Manager Zhou left, Rong Peilan stood up, raised her head slightly, and looked at the blue sky and bright sun above the eaves. A group of birds were flying south in a line. Birds know how to seek benefits and avoid harm, let alone humans.

She said softly, "It's time to see the light of day."

She withdrew her gaze and immediately saw Jixing peeking out from the door.

Seeing that no one was in the hall, Ji Xing rushed in immediately, "Madam, the prince said that the weather is good now, and he wants to take you to Xiangguo Temple to see the red maples."

"Xiangguo Temple?" Rong Peilan's face changed slightly. Ji Xing didn't notice, "Yes, the red maples in Xiangguo Temple are the most beautiful at this time of year."

Her eyes changed slightly. Her father and mother went to Xiangguo Temple to burn incense. On the way back, they encountered robbers. In order to protect her mother, her father fell off a cliff and his body could not be found.

Ji Xing continued chattering, "Most of the nobles in the capital go to see the red maples at this time. Even the eldest princess, who rarely goes out, goes to Xiangguo Temple to see the red maples every year!"

"Princess?" Rong Peilan thought of the jade hairpin that she had put in the box.

Ji Xing nodded, "Yes, the princess even inscribed a name for the red maple forest, calling it Mengyuan Forest."

"Yuan..." Rong Peilan's hands hanging by her side trembled slightly, and her drooped eyelids concealed the strong emotions in her eyes.

Ji Xing raised his eyes and saw that the young lady looked unhappy. The cheerful expression on her face disappeared instantly. "Young lady?"

Rong Peilan suppressed her emotions, and when she raised her eyes, she regained her clarity of mind.

"In that case, let's go early, otherwise it will be dark when we get there."

……

Since the messages from the Marquis' Mansion spread, Mrs. Zhong has never left the house again. Ji Yunzhang was afraid that his mother was depressed, so he took the whole family to visit Xiangguo Temple.

It is not far from the Marquis' Mansion to Xiangguo Temple, and it only takes an hour by carriage.

However, the way up the mountain is not easy to walk on. There is a steep cliff in one section, and you will fall to pieces if you are not careful.

Rong Peilan looked at the scenery passing by rapidly outside the window, and her heart felt heavy as if a stone was pressing on it.

But until she reached the front of Xiangguo Temple, she had not seen the extremely steep mountain road.

She frowned, "Isn't it said that the mountain road to Xiangguo Temple is steep? I don't seem to have seen it along the way."

Zhong rubbed her knees which were a little sore from sitting. "After the road here was repaired decades ago, that section of the mountain road has been almost abandoned."

Ji Yunzhang turned his head to look at her, "Do you know which way to go?"

Rong Peilan forced a smile on her lips, "I just heard it from others."

Mrs. Zhong was in a rare better mood and continued to explain to her, "Fifteen years ago, Xiangguo Temple was called Mingshan Temple. It was a small temple, and only the villagers at the foot of the mountain worshipped it."

"Later, a monk named Shanwei came and gave lectures here, which gradually attracted some pilgrims."

"After this place became prosperous, His Majesty went on a tour incognito to Mingshan Temple and ordered a large-scale reconstruction, naming it Xiangguo Temple."

"This road was built at that time, making it much more convenient to go up the mountain. The scenery in the mountain is beautiful, and many nobles stayed there, so the temple became prosperous."

Rong Peilan looked at Zhong's mouth opening and closing in front of her and felt so dazed that her voice could not stop trembling.

"It was abandoned ten, ten years ago..."

Zhong came to her senses and saw Rong Peilan, whose face was pale. She subconsciously reached out to support her, "Lan'er?!"

In a trance, Rong Peilan saw her mother with a big belly, her clothes covered in blood, and the wooden hairpin she wore in her hair every day was missing. The little girl screamed in fear.

Why did they take that deserted road six years ago?

"Miss!"

Rong Peilan's eyes went dark, and she fell into a warm and solid embrace, just like her father's arms when she was a child.

(End of this chapter)