Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 51
by Little PandaVolume 3: Courtly Winds and Clouds, Each Finds Their Place
She’s Also a Woman, She Could Also Be in Danger
The matter of the human trafficking concluded just like that, following the confiscation of the Eighth Princess’s Manor1.
The Eighth Princess was already dead. The Emperor, mindful of flesh-and-blood ties, took the Little Heir Apparent into the palace to be raised. Considering that the manager2 of Yiyun Tower had been threatened by the Imperial Clan and had not acted intentionally, and feeling deeply that it was her own failure to manage her imperial younger sister—an instance of the imperial family’s lack of virtue that caused the common people under her rule to suffer—the Emperor significantly lightened the punishment for Yiyun Tower, sentencing its manager only to exile in Nanling3.
As it turned out, after the person sat in jail for two months, it’s said that upon payment of a ransom—or bribe—of ten thousand taels of gold, they somehow managed to sway officials somewhere and were released early.
When Su Yi heard about this, her whole expression turned into that ‘grandpa looking at a smartphone’ meme. Money power really is something else, she thought. Corruption and criminal injustice… truly exist in every dynasty.
Five Imperial Daughters had handled the case together. Because the Fifth Princess had cracked this human trafficking case, she enjoyed a period of unrivaled prominence. Not only was she praised by everyone within and outside the court, but her reputation among the common people was also excellent. The Emperor rewarded her with many things. As for the other Imperial Daughters, considering that even if they had no merit, they had put in hard work, the Emperor also gave each of them some jewels. However, compared to the Fifth Princess, it was like a minor shaman meeting a major shaman4.
When the Emperor bestowed the rewards, Su Yi mingled with the crowd of commoners to watch the spectacle. Seeing load after load of jewels being delivered to the Fifth Princess’s Manor, she was incredibly envious.
Sigh, so much money, so many agates, pearls, and antiques, so much jade… Couldn’t they spare just a little bit for her?
Su Yi had a dream of becoming a rich woman, and every day she prayed, Oh Heavens, please hurry up and crush me to death with money!
But the Heavens didn’t hear her prayer. Not only did she not get any money, but the day after watching the Emperor reward the Fifth Princess, she was informed that she was about to lose a lot of money.
Her ready-made clothing shop required large quantities of cloth to make garments. But early one morning, Geng Rong, who supplied her goods, came to find her with a worried frown5. “Miss, we have no cloth.”
Su Yi was eating breakfast. Upon hearing this, she lost all appetite. “What happened?”
The cloth Geng Rong and her team sold wasn’t spun out of thin air. They bought dried cocoons from merchants who had acquired them from silkworm farmers, then reeled the silk and spun the cloth themselves. Most of these merchants were independent operators, and the silkworm farmers were even more scattered. When selling their goods, they only cared about who paid more. Geng Rong’s team already offered a good price, but recently, a new cloth shop opened that offered twice as much money as they did. Furthermore, some people said they saw the son of the Minister of Revenue visit that shop five or six times, taking away quite a bit of cloth each time, effectively using his actions to secretly back the shop.
The Minister of Revenue held real power. Even a petty official in the Ministry of Revenue who just handled documents could, with a flick of their brush pen, control the livelihoods of these merchants and artisans.
Those independent merchants, partly to curry favor with the Minister of Revenue and partly to make more money, all sold the cocoons they collected to that new shop. In the entire capital city, ninety percent of the silkworm cocoons were bought up by that shop.
As soon as Su Yi heard this, she knew the newly opened shop was engaging in malicious competition. Since it involved the son of the Minister of Revenue, it seemed her competitor was connected to power and influence.
“They bought so many cocoons to make cloth—aren’t they afraid they won’t be able to sell it all?”
Geng Rong hastily replied, “Sigh, that’s exactly what’s strange. That shop’s cloth is especially cheap, only ten wen per bolt. And they also sell ready-made clothes, which are even cheaper—a single garment costs only fifteen wen. Yet, I heard that the embroideresses they hired earn monthly wages of eight taels of silver! Who wouldn’t be tempted by that? Quite a few carpenters and farmers have abandoned their original trades and are scrambling to apply6. And those farmers who don’t know embroidery? I hear they’re already planning not to plant millet anymore; they’ve cleared their fields to plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms next year.”
This familiar sense of déjà vu made Su Yi’s heart skip a beat. Grain is the foundation of the nation! If farmers stop growing food crops, what will everyone eat and drink?
Mulberry trees aren’t like grain crops that can be harvested twice or even three times a year. That stuff takes at least three to five years to mature after planting. If everyone plants mulberry trees instead of grain, how will they survive those three to five years? What if there’s a flood or drought?
So what if they have money? When the time comes and there’s no food, they’ll just be waiting for death. Besides, the soldiers in the army need to eat too. If they can’t even eat their fill, how can they fight?
If this goes on long enough, the country will inevitably fall into chaos.
It seems someone doesn’t want Yanxue Kingdom to prosper.
I’m afraid I’ll have to inform Ji Qingchi about this matter.
Having made up her mind, Su Yi reassured Geng Rong, “Don’t worry, Manager Geng, sit down first and have some food with me. After we finish eating, I’ll go out onto the streets with you later to check the situation.”
After finishing the meal, Su Yi, using the excuse of needing a walk to aid digestion, took a group of people out onto the streets for a stroll.
She didn’t intentionally go to look at the new shop, but acted as if she were genuinely just wandering around, walking here and there.
Her constitution was weak, and she tired quickly after walking for just a short while. Having eaten something too salty in the morning, she also felt thirsty, so she thought of going over to the Tian Yi Teahouse7 to have some tea. As she led her group over, she unexpectedly saw workers standing at the teahouse entrance, taking down its sign.
Su Yi asked curiously, “What’s going on? Is the teahouse being renovated?”
Geng Rong explained from the side, “I was wondering why you were heading this way, Miss. So you wanted to come to Tian Yi Teahouse. It’s my fault, I forgot to tell you earlier—this teahouse is closing down.”
“Closing down?” Su Yi was puzzled. “Why is it closing?”
Could it be that the owner developed lasting problems after being beaten by Su Tianci before? But that incident happened quite a while ago, and she hadn’t heard any news that the owner was failing.
“Business is bad, so it has to close, naturally.” Geng Rong sighed. “Ever since that Yiyun Tower opened, neither the tea, nor the alcohol, nor the food dishes at Tian Yi Teahouse seem as appealing as those in Yiyun Tower.”
Geng Rong shook her head. “That Yiyun Tower, they’re rich and throw their money around8. The place on the first floor serves drinks and food—just like with acquiring cocoons—their meat dishes are only eight wen per plate, more than twice as cheap as Tian Yi’s. People aren’t fools; who wouldn’t run over to Yiyun Tower to save money?”
Su Yi instantly understood why there were so many people inside Yiyun Tower.
When they had gone there last time, she had noticed many people on the first floor of Yiyun Tower, all dressed in coarse cloth and hemp garments. At the time, she had inwardly mused that so many women in Yanxue Kingdom were fond of female charms9. Thinking back now, probably less than half of the customers there were for the pleasure house section, while the other, larger half were purely treating it as just a place to eat, drink tea, and have meals. That’s why there were so many people.
Having figured this out, Su Yi suddenly shuddered. An outrageous conjecture formed in her mind.
Yiyun Tower’s food and drinks were very cheap, making it easy to attract poor women who didn’t have much money and couldn’t afford to marry a fulang. After these women entered Yiyun Tower, they could be targeted, tied up, and sold to neighboring countries. Their parents and relatives would be unable to seek justice for them, and no one would care about their fate. For some women whose parents were deceased and who had no relatives, no one would even notice they had been trafficked to a neighboring country. Then, over time, those who were sold off would naturally become people of the neighboring Huachen Kingdom and Dongli Kingdom10. 11
They would be locked up, confined, forced to bear children for the men of Huachen Kingdom and Dongli Kingdom, unable to escape for their entire lives.
The mere thought of this method, chilling enough to make one shudder though not cold, made Su Yi feel as if she had plunged into an ice pit.
She was also in Yanxue Kingdom. She was a woman. She too could potentially be abducted and sold.
If Ji Qingchi hadn’t gone to Yiyun Tower last time, would she have been trafficked there?
After finishing her lengthy explanation, Geng Rong felt her mouth was dry. She looked at Su Yi and was startled to see that the Young Lady’s complexion was considerably paler than when they arrived. Su Yi’s status was vastly different now; she was the legitimate young lady of the Marquis Manor! If anything untoward were to happen to her12, wouldn’t the Lord Marquis demand her life? She quickly urged, “Miss, are you feeling unwell? Let’s not look anymore today. Please return to the mansion and rest first?”
“I’m fine. Let’s go over and see.” Her face still pale, Su Yi walked towards the Tian Yi Teahouse where the sign was being dismantled.
As she got closer, she discovered that the manager of Tian Yi Teahouse was actually there too. However, she looked much older than when Su Yi had first met her; the hair at her temples was streaked with white, and she sat silently on the steps, watching the workers remove the signboard.
Su Yi stepped forward and said to her with a light smile, “Manager, do you still recognize me?”
The manager looked up, saw it was her, and hastily stood up. “Ah, it’s Benefactress Miss! This humble one hasn’t yet repaid your kindness, Miss. Please come inside and sit for a bit?”
Then she remembered the teahouse had been completely emptied out—where would any tables and chairs come from?
So, rather embarrassed, she lowered her head. “My apologies, Miss. This teahouse… is about to change hands. There’s nowhere inside for you to sit, Miss. Truly sorry.”
“How could just standing for a moment be doing me a disservice?” Su Yi smiled slightly. “May I ask, Manager, regarding the sale of this teahouse, has anyone agreed to buy it?”
“Well, someone offered four thousand taels of silver to buy it from me. But this is my life’s work; I can’t bear to sell it.” The manager sighed dejectedly. “But thinking about it, four thousand taels is enough for me to earn over ten years or so. If I don’t sell it, will my whole family have to drink the northwest wind13? So, the plan was to take down the sign today and sell it to that buyer in a couple of days.”
Su Yi smiled. “How about this: Manager, you don’t need to take the signboard down. I will offer five thousand taels of silver to buy this establishment. It will still be called Tian Yi Tower, and you will still be the manager here. However, I will be the owner, and in the future, you’ll need to listen to my opinions on what to sell. What do you think, Manager?”
The manager immediately turned from sorrowful to joyful. Su Yi was so generous, offering a thousand taels more than the other buyer! She would get the money and be able to continue working here, securing a place for herself. Overwhelmed with gratitude14, she said, “Being able to keep this sign is this humble one’s greatest wish! And Miss, you are even willing to hire me, ensuring my family won’t be without income after the money runs out… Miss, you are truly this humble one’s savior Bodhisattva15!”
As she spoke, she was about to kneel and kowtow, but Su Yi quickly had Gancao help her up. “Manager, there’s no need for such ceremony. Yan Can, take two strings of cash16 for the sisters removing the signboard. Ask them to come down for some tea and snacks, and tell them they don’t need to remove it anymore.”
The manager joyfully had the workers come down. Everyone bought some wine and meat and shared it. Su Yi dispatched Shaoyao back to the Marquis Manor to fetch five thousand taels in silver notes17. She then bought the teahouse from the manager, telling her to refurbish the tables, chairs, and decorations inside, preparing to find an auspicious date18 to reopen for business.
I can’t let Yiyun Tower monopolize the market. I need Tian Yi Tower to recover as soon as possible and compete with Yiyun Tower for customers again. It would be best if I could bring Yiyun Tower down entirely. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.
After discussing future plans with the manager, it was already midday. Yan Can brought a waterskin filled with warm water to Su Yi. “Miss, shall we return to the mansion?”
Su Yi took a sip of water. Her face was still pale, and fine beads of sweat had appeared. “No rush. Let’s first go take a look at the shop Manager Geng mentioned.”
After winding through two streets, they reached the shop Geng Rong had spoken of. Su Yi didn’t go close, merely observing from afar. Indeed, there were many people there, a dense, teeming mass coming and going—a truly astonishing sight.
“We can only buy ten percent of the cocoons, and that’s already after raising the price we offer by double.” Seeing the crowd and thinking of the scanty goods in their warehouse, Geng Rong sighed. “The cloth we have on hand can only get us through this winter. When spring comes next year, I don’t know what we’ll do.”
Spring is the time for planting crops. People back then didn’t understand the concept of cutting losses promptly19. If we don’t quickly dispel the farmers’ idea of planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms before the planting season begins, I’m afraid getting them to cut down those trees and plant crops later will be harder than climbing to heaven.
With this thought, Su Yi said, “Let’s make a trip to the Ninth Princess’s Manor.”
Upon arriving at the Ninth Princess’s residence, Su Yi asked a guard to help announce that she wished to request an audience with the Ninth Princess. Soon, Ji Qingchi’s steward came out from the mansion, shook her head, and said, “Her Highness is not currently in the residence.”
Considering the urgency of the matter, Su Yi quickly said, “Then I will wait here for Her Ninth Highness.”
“Well…” The steward gave a troubled smile. “I’m afraid Her Highness might not return until evening today.”
“Has Her Highness gone to the military barracks?”
“No, not that,” the steward looked around to ensure no one was nearby, then stepped closer and whispered to Su Yi, “The several Highnesses are always unwilling to establish their own Official Consorts, so Her Majesty intends to choose Official Consorts for them. This is a major affair. Her Majesty is preparing to host a banquet in the palace on New Year’s Eve20 to entertain all the high officials, having them bring their families and sons to attend. This palace banquet is a grand affair, and fearing any mistakes, Her Majesty has assigned the task to the Second Highness and our Highness. Her Highness now leaves early and returns late every day, going to the palace to make arrangements. She’s very busy.”
Originally, managing banquets like this should be the responsibility of the Emperor Consort and the Imperial Noble Consorts. However, the highest-ranking individuals currently in the Emperor’s inner palace are just a few Attendant Lords, and below them are Attendant Husbands who don’t even have official titles. They truly lack the status to handle such matters, so the Emperor assigned these tasks to her two daughters.
“The Third Highness and Seventh Highness have gone to Linchuan to perform sacrificial rites on Her Majesty’s behalf. They probably won’t be back until New Year’s Eve either. With the New Year approaching, these Masters are all very busy.”
As the steward spoke, he remarked with feeling that things weren’t easy for the Highnesses either.
However, listening to this, Su Yi felt something was odd. The Third and Seventh Princesses were away performing winter rites for the Emperor, and the Second and Ninth Princesses were arranging the banquet… so what was the Fifth Princess doing?
The Fifth Princess had just recently rendered meritorious service; logically speaking, this should be when she enjoyed the Emperor’s greatest trust. She ought to be involved in these matters.
However, when she asked the steward, she just shook his head. “These imperial family matters… we only know what our Mistress tells us. If the Mistress doesn’t say, how would we know? Her Highness never speaks of the Fifth Highness’s affairs, so we have no way of knowing.”
Su Yi suppressed the doubt in her heart. “I have urgent business and must request an audience with the Ninth Highness. No matter how late, I must see her today. May I enter the mansion to wait for Her Highness?”
Su Yi was now the legitimate young lady of the Pingyang Marquis Manor. Usually, it’s a case of a daughter gaining nobility through her mother—only if the mother is formidable can one be enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed prime minister. But her situation was directly a case of the mother gaining nobility through the daughter. Word had spread throughout Jingdu: it was because of her that the Marquis of Pingyang had decided to change the Heir Apparent to someone from Su Yi’s grandmother’s line. Therefore, regardless of who the Heir Apparent might be in the future, the one inheriting the title of Marquis of Pingyang would definitely be Su Yi.
The steward also knew that this legitimate young lady of the Pingyang Marquis Manor was a formidable figure. How could she possibly refuse? “Please come in, come in! This humble one will immediately send someone to inform the Ninth Highness.”
Footnotes
- 八亲王府 | Bā Qīnwáng Fǔ | Manor of the Eighth Princess of the Blood.
- 掌柜 | zhǎngguì | Traditional term for a shopkeeper, manager, or proprietor.
- 南岭 | Nánlǐng | South Ridge; likely a remote region used for exile.
- 小巫见大巫 | xiǎo wū jiàn dà wū | Lit. “a minor shaman meets a major shaman”; Feeling dwarfed or insignificant by comparison.
- 愁眉苦脸 | chóu méi kǔ liǎn | Lit. “worried eyebrows, bitter face”; To wear a worried or troubled expression.
- 争先恐后 | zhēng xiān kǒng hòu | Lit. “strive to be first and fear being last”; To eagerly vie with one another.
- 天一茶楼 | Tiān Yī Chálóu | Likely “Number One Under Heaven Teahouse” or similar name.
- 财大气粗 | cái dà qì cū | Lit. “wealthy and breathes coarsely”; Rich and arrogant, flaunting wealth.
- 女色 | nǚsè | Lit. “female color/beauty”; Often refers to sensual allure or attraction to women.
- 冬丽国 | Dōng Lì Guó | Likely “Winter Beauty Country.”
- The original text describes abduction and trafficking linked to the establishment’s business model. Translated directly to convey the severity of Su Yi’s realization.
- 三长两短 | sān cháng liǎng duǎn | Lit. “three long, two short” (referring to coffin planks); Euphemism for an unforeseen disaster, especially death.
- 喝西北风 | hē xīběi fēng | Lit. “drink the northwest wind”; To have nothing to eat; to starve.
- 感激涕零 | gǎnjī tì líng | Lit. “grateful shedding tears and mucus”.
- 再生菩萨 | zàishēng Púsà | Lit. “rebirth Bodhisattva”; A term of utmost respect and gratitude, likening the benefactor to a savior or a Bodhisattva who has given one a new lease on life.
- 吊 | diào | Diao; a string typically holding 1000 wen (copper coins). Two diao would be 2000 wen.
- 银票 | yínpiào | Banknotes exchangeable for silver; paper currency representing a certain amount of silver.
- 良辰吉日 | liáng chén jí rì | Auspicious date and time; a lucky day chosen for important events like openings or weddings.
- 及时止损 | jíshí zhǐsǔn | Lit. “timely stop loss”; A modern term, often from finance/business, meaning to cut one’s losses promptly to prevent further damage.
- 大年三十 | Dànián Sānshí | The 30th day of the 12th lunar month; Chinese New Year’s Eve.
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