165: Chapter 165: The Fourth Prince’s Shop (Second Update) 165: Chapter 165: The Fourth Prince’s Shop (Second Update) How could Lin Yi not be excited?
But when he saw his own expression, the young Emperor’s face seemed a little displeased.
Lin Yi seemed to realize this and immediately withdrew his expression, also frowning with difficulty:
“But this time, we can’t continue to blindfold the Empress like last time…”
Until this moment, seeing Lin Yi’s troubled face, the young Emperor’s mood improved quite a bit.
However, she snorted coldly:
“If I knew what to do, would I need to ask you?”
Alright, there was absolutely no problem with that statement.
It also made Lin Yi helplessly roll his eyes.
“Your Majesty, why not use the same trick as the first time, and say it’s to celebrate your successful acquisition of military power.
To commemorate, you want to have a few drinks with the Empress.
Then just get her drunk, wouldn’t that work?”
When the young Emperor heard this, she frowned, but she didn’t have a better idea:
“If there’s no better way, then it has to be .
But this is not a long-term solution.
Well, let’s just avoid the issue for now, and take it one step at a time.
Go prepare for this.”
Hearing this, Lin Yi bowed and then prepared to take his leave.
It was then that the young Emperor suddenly seemed to remember something, calling Lin Yi back:
It’s top-quality Knockout Drug, remember not to use too much.
Also, since the glazed craft has been developed, the next step should be moved up the agenda.”
Seeing the young Emperor toss a small gourd towards himself, Lin Yi immediately reached out and caught it.
Then he looked at it with some curiosity.
He was genuinely curious.
It appeared that this ancient society really did have something like Knockout Drug.
Though after drinking this drug, one would fall into a deep sleep, unconscious, it was a necessary evil.
After all, he couldn’t be with the Empress openly and above board like he was with Xiao Xiao.
With a helpless sigh in his heart, he wondered when he could be with the Empress openly and legitimately.
After leaving, Lin Yi didn’t do much to prepare for this matter; the mandarin duck pot from last time was still in his hands and just needed to be used again when the time came.
Seeing that there was still time, Lin Yi took his people directly to the streets of the Capital City.
And the Capital City at this time was very similar to that of the Tang Dynasty.
There was also a distinction between the East Market and the West Market.
The East Market was always where the wealthy gathered, with spacious storefronts lined up.
While the West Market was where the common people went to market, mostly filled with small vendors and street stalls.
After leaving the Imperial Palace, Lin Yi took his men straight to the East Market.
After several inspections, Lin Yi took a fancy to a two-story wooden building.
This wooden building not only had a long row of two-story storefronts in front but also had a sizable courtyard in the back.
Most importantly, this wooden building was not open for business and was locked up tight.
Lin Yi immediately sent someone to inquire about whose shop this was and whether it could be transferred.
The news came back that it was actually Fourth Prince’s property.
This made Lin Yi pause, not expecting Fourth Prince to be so pervasive, seemingly impossible to be free of his shadow wherever he went.
However, considering his relationship with Fourth Prince, it was obviously impossible for him to take over the shop.
But this did not stump him; after all, he was not acting for himself but for the Emperor.
It would be best to report this matter back to the young Emperor and let her handle it.
He believed that for just a shop, the young Emperor would definitely have the clout to take it from Fourth Prince’s hands.
As for setting up the shop, Lin Yi had been preparing several days ago.
At least, in the Nanshan Base, a group of sales staff had already been trained.
They were all young and unattached women selected from among the refugees.
After being cleaned up and dressed in tidy clothes, their appearances were quite passable.
After recording everything, Lin Yi didn’t linger any longer and went straight to the next destination.
Soon, he appeared in front of an old Cloth Shop.
He needed to order special uniforms for these prepared waitresses.
After entering, he found the owner, explained his requirements once through, and brought out some small models he had made crudely with fabric.
He also told the owner to make 100 sets for each style, all made with high-quality cloth.
Regarding the sizes, he asked to produce various sizes from small to large, as there was no standard sizing table at the time.
The measurements would depend on the owner’s experience.
The main point was that the physiques and heights of the sales staff selected by Lin Yi were very similar.
After roughly describing their builds to the owner, the owner understood.
Although the owner was puzzled by the strange clothes Lin Yi wanted, since Lin Yi offered substantial payment—1.5 times the market price—he still happily accepted Lin Yi’s request and told Lin Yi the clothes would be ready in no more than three days.
Lin Yi had no objection to this timeframe; let alone three days, the opening of the Glazed Shop would definitely take at least a month.
Not to mention that the shop had not been rented yet.
Just the production of the glazed ornaments wasn’t enough either.
Moreover, the Glazed Shop needed to be redecorated to the utmost luxury, for he intended to profit off the wealthy, and Lin Yi was well aware of marketing arts from future generations.
After an initial stroll, Lin Yi went to the Ministry of Industry.
The Ministry of Industry was currently undergoing renovation, starting with the dilapidated gates, which had already been entirely dismantled.
Lin Yi met with Lu Feng there and also found out that during this period, the Ministry of Industry had accumulated a considerable extra income.
These were the payments made by the mansions that wanted to employ workers.
Lin Yi didn’t touch this money but let Lu Feng keep it in the Ministry of Industry’s accounts.
With money in hand, Lu Feng now walked with a much straighter spine than before, no longer as timid and subservient as he once was.
This made him greatly admire Lin Yi.
His gaze towards Lin Yi was filled with respect.
As the sun set in the west and the day came to an end, Lin Yi hurried back to the Imperial Palace without further delay.
Arriving outside the Imperial Study Room, he was surprised to see many Palace Maids and eunuchs had been added outside the door.