Chapter 5
I sent the steward to the market for masons and had the garden renovated overnight.
Four days later, a catchy advertisement rang through the capital.
An imperial garden. Exotic blossoms and rare plants. A paradise beyond the mortal world, where luxury awaits. Admission: one tael of silver. Any gentleman accompanied by a lady receives one complimentary ticket for his companion.
News that Prince Dun’s flower nursery was opening to the public spread through every street and alley in the capital.
Prince Dun scratched his round little head and asked in confusion,
“Isn’t one tael of silver a little expensive?”
Lin Chuxue answered before I could.
“Elder Sister explained it to me. The one-tael price filters out low-end customers and improves the shopping experience for premium clients, which helps increase sales!”
I could not resist stroking Lin Chuxue’s soft, babyish cheeks.
“How clever! You remembered everything. From now on, you will be the general manager of this nursery.”
Lin Chuxue beamed proudly at my praise. Not to be outdone, the little dumpling asked,
“Then what will I do?”
I looked him over with disdain.
“You can handle logistics. Run errands for Chuxue and me, greet the customers, and tell them about the flowers.”
Prince Dun stiffened his neck.
“I am a prince. You want me to receive customers and lecture them about flowers? That… that is beneath my dignity!”
I smacked the back of his stubborn neck.
“We can barely afford food, and you’re worried about dignity? Look how thin Chuxue is! She hasn’t had a single new outfit since she married you. She was better off as a palace maid–at least they gave her new clothes twice a year!”
Prince Dun truly loved Lin Chuxue. The instant I mentioned her, all his temper vanished.
I kicked him in the backside.
“Hurry up and greet them. We have customers!”
Reluctantly, the little dumpling waddled off to receive our guests.
The flowers in Prince Dun’s nursery truly were magnificent. Many flower enthusiasts placed their orders and paid on the spot. What romantic young gentleman could stroll among the blossoms with a beautiful lady and resist buying a pot for her?
After the garden closed that evening, the three of us opened the cashbox in my room, our eyes shining.
We counted the money nine times. Six hundred and thirty-two taels in total!
Lin Chuxue was delighted, but Prince Dun looked glum.
“If I sell all these flowers, what will Mother Consort look at when she visits?”
I rolled my eyes at his hopelessness, though I could hardly criticize his sincere devotion to his mother.
“Once you have money, you can buy different seeds. Mother Consort must be tired of seeing the same flowers every year.”
His spirits immediately lifted, and he pulled out a little notebook to start calculating.
I looked up at Lin Chuxue.
“Chuxue, are the flowers Prince Cheng and the other nobles asked for still here?”
Lin Chuxue nodded obediently.
“They are. I already instructed the maids and servants receiving guests to say those flowers had been reserved whenever anyone asked about them.”
“Excellent! Tomorrow, we will deliver them!”
On the nursery’s second day of business, dozens of young servants put on the red uniforms I had ordered and carried flowers to the noble estates.
That morning, the same cry rang outside one aristocratic residence after another.
“Home delivery from Prince Dun’s garden! Here are the flowers you ordered. Two hundred taels of silver, please!”
Prince Cheng had ordered the most. The procession bearing his flowers was so grand that it filled an entire street. Many people who had been unwilling to spend one tael visiting the garden came to his residence to watch the spectacle.
The three of us secretly followed behind and witnessed the exact moment Prince Cheng’s composure shattered.
With my encouragement, Steward Wang finally found the courage to stand tall before his master.
“Greetings, Your Highness. These are the flowers you ordered five days ago. Since you requested so many, our prince prepared a discounted package price for you. The total is two thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight taels of silver!”
The instant he finished, every porter carrying flowers shouted in unison,
“Two-eight-eight-eight! Two-eight-eight-eight! May fortune follow you every step of the way!”
“Two-eight-eight-eight! Two-eight-eight-eight! May your whole family bloom with beauty!”
The scene overflowed with festivity, and the excited crowd applauded along.
Praise rose from every side.
“Wonderful! Now this is a spectacle worthy of the imperial family!”
“What deep affection between royal brothers! Prince Cheng heard his younger brother had opened a nursery and offered such generous support. How noble of him!”
People scattered through the crowd kept the compliments coming. Prince Cheng stood at the gate, his face ashen with rage. Yet once he heard the praise, he had no choice but to replace his fury with a smile–even if his face remained a sickly shade of gray.
Naturally, I had paid every one of those enthusiastic spectators.
Two sentences made a man spend two thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight taels on me.
I had done it.