Shopkeeper Rong couldn’t continue to sit still. After considering the matter over, he took out banknotes and went to Ji Store. 

  Smiling, Shopkeeper Rong asked, “I want to buy 25,000 bushels of rice from you. Are you willing to sell it to me, Owner Ji?” 

  Ji Man was slowly hanging up a signboard that said the unit price was now fourteen silver coins. Looking at him, she said, “Shopkeeper Rong, are you buying this as a direct customer? The price won’t be cheap then.” 

  “That’s alright!” Shopkeeper Rong clenched his jaw. Purchasing this rice would only bring him profit. He had already seen how the price of rice had rapidly increased day after day. Even the commoners knew by now that they had to store up on rice. As a merchant, how could he not be aware of this importance? 

  “Okay.” Ji Man was smiling as she clapped her hands. “Shopkeeper Yan, lead the way for Shopkeeper Rong to pick up the goods.” 

  Yan Buba had been fiddling with his abacus. A hint of a smile finally appeared on his face. “Shopkeeper Rong, please follow me.” 

  This time, the shopkeepers had come here separately. After Shopkeeper Rong had come over, Shopkeeper Liu was the next one to arrive. One after another, the remaining shopkeepers also came here. It seemed that the alliance between the other shopkeepers was very fragile. 

  Ji Man didn’t bother asking them if they would hand over their tenant farmer contracts in order to get the discounted price. Instead, she sold the rice to them at the higher market price. 

  She had originally brought this rice from them at unit price of seven silver coins. Now, she was selling off that same rice at a unit price of fourteen silver coins along with the rice she had gotten from Zhangjun Prince 

  When Yan Buba looked at the money, he was smiling so widely that his eyes were closed. A sign was finally hung outside Ji Store that they had sold out. 

  The various rice stores now had rice of their own. Seeing that Ji Store had no rice of its own, the shopkeepers confidently raised their prices. The unit price of rice jumped straight to sixteen silver coins. The commoners complained about their hardships, but they had no way to change the ways of the world. They only had the option of buying this rice. 

  After a week of this, the capital was starting to become an abyss of suffering. Looking at the rice prices of the other stores, Ji Man smiled and said, “It’s about time. Let’s reopen the store.” 

  Ji Store was restocked with rice. On the opening day, a sign was hung up that the rice would be sold at unit price of thirteen silver coins. 

  Seeing the cheaper price, the other shopkeepers were dumbfounded. Was Ji Store planning on competing to death with them? 

  Fine, let’s compete then. Who’s scared of who? No one believed that Ji Store had enough stock to continue competing with them. 

  However, even when the end of summer had arrived, Ji Store was still selling rice at the lower price. As autumn approached, not only did Ji Store not run of rice, it lowered its unit price to twelve silver coins. 

  By now, a few rice shops were on the verge of bankruptcy. They had no other choice, they could only decrease their prices to match Ji Man’s store. At the very least, they would be able to sell their rice again. 

  — 

  “You’re certainly doing very well.” Ning Yuxuan was sitting in Ji Man’s room and looking at her thick account book that was on the table. He pursed his lips and said, “But your actions have been too big. A lot of people in the Ministry of Revenue have been questioning and discussing the reasons behind your actions.” 

  Ji Man was wearing an expensive gold and silver robe that was frequently worn by merchants. She smiled gently and said, “Marquis, aren’t you protecting this one from above? So, why should this one be afraid?” 

  The imperial court didn’t control the price of rice, so naturally the merchants could sell the rice at any price or volume. If she didn’t act deviously, would Ji Store have lasted for so long? 

  The profits from the past several months had been almost horrifyingly high. Not only had she fully repaid the Zhangjun grain that she had brought on credit, she also had money to signed contracts with numerous tenant farmers. It was only be keeping herself busy that she wouldn’t have the time to miss Haohao. 

  She didn’t know if that little fellow was doing well. 

  “Food is the foundation of a country. As long as you’re within the emperor’s reach, you should do your best to be less conspicuous.” Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and said, “If you end up provoking someone, and the matter of Ji Store is brought up to the emperor, I won’t be able to save you.” 

  This person would come here twenty times every month. He would just sit there and watch her do bookkeeping. It seemed as if he was only coming here to see her. He usually stayed silent. Occasionally, he would seemingly carelessly mention a matter that only members of the imperial court should know about. At the beginning, Ji Man had been against his visits. Later on, after many visits and him telling her information that had been very useful to her, she learned to tolerate his presence. 

  Right now, the various rice merchants were already at the end of their strength. Tomorrow, she would lower the unit price of rice to ten silver coins. With the other rice merchants being in the deficit, there was no way that they would be able to sign contracts with the tenant farmers next year. 

  While Ji Man had a price monopoly here, she had made contact with rice merchants in other regions to ask about their grain prices. She didn’t have much inventory left either. She would have to stock up on rice soon. 

  “Prince Huainan’s heir is returning to the capital tomorrow. There’s going to be a lot of people gathered to welcome him back.” Ning Yuxuan lightly said, “It’ll be a gathering of people that you’re familiar with. Do you want to go?” 

  (T/N: Prince Huainan’s heir, Zhao Kaifeng, was introduced in chapter 152. Ji Man had helped him and his wife, Luo Qianqian, from getting a divorce.) 

  Ji Man was stunned. Prince Huainan’s heir? 

  That was someone that she hadn’t seen in a long, long time. She was surprised to hear that he and Luo Qianqian, who dared to loved and hate, were finally returned to the capital. 

  “Of course, I’ll go.” Ji Man looked at the account books on the table and said, “Marquis, thank you for your invitation. Where is the gathering going to take place?” 

  “I’ll come over tomorrow and pick you up.” Ning Yuxuan stood up and indifferently said, “You just need to prepare yourself.” 

  Recently, his attitude towards her hadn’t been overly familiar or oppressive. He was neither too cold nor too warm. Ji Man actually liked this feeling, so she didn’t refuse his offer of going to the gathering together. 

  — 

  Luo Qianqian and Zhao Kaifeng already had a son, and their relationship seemed more harmonious than before. The people that had come to the gathering were all couples. Qian Yingchen and Zhu Yurun were also here. And so, when people saw that Ning Yuxuan had brought Ji Man along as his plus-one, the scene of two men together looked very discordant in comparison.

  Chapter 382 – The fragrance of the flowers has already faded away in the mortal world (1) 

  Although Luo Qianqian had an average-looking face, she looked rather classy in her autumn-colored buttoned jacket and a greenish-blue skirt. Although her face wasn’t as attractive as the people around her, she exuded a feeling that made people feel comfortable around her. 

  When the crowd saw Ji Man and Marquis Moyu coming here together, they were a bit surprised. Since today was a gathering for the members of Tonghua Poetry Association to have fun by going sightseeing, it was one thing for the members of the association to bring along family members. But, why had Marquis Moyu brought along a man that he had no connection with? 

  Zhu Yurun was the only happy to see Ji Man. She waved her hands in greeting. “Mister Ji!” 

  Ji Man smiled at her. When she walked over there, she swept her gaze over the crowd. It was the same group of young masters and ladies that she had originally met in Tonghua Poetry Association back then. However, they were now all married. The young men that used revolve around Wen Wan now had wives of their own. This gathering was just like a classmate reunion in the modern-day. They were even going to tastefully go hiking to ascend to new heights. 

  The current prime minister, Xiao Tiangyi, had also arrived. His previous breezy and carefree young master image had been completely swept away. He was now a mature and composed official. However, it was inevitable that other people would feel slightly reserved now that he was here. 

  “It’s been so long since we all saw each other, and everyone is well.” Luo Qianqian was smiling as she said, “Who could have guessed that we would once again be able to go hiking together without anyone missing from our original group?” 

  Zhao Kaifeng was standing by Luo Qianqian’s side. With his arm around her waist, he chuckled and agreed, “Absolutely!” 

  Looking at this scene, Ji Man though that Qianqian’s life was probably going well. Ji Man didn’t know why, but she actually sighed in relief and slightly smiled. 

  The previous Grand Tutor’s eldest son, Sun Zhangyang, who was now an official himself, swept his gaze around. When his gaze landed on Marquis Moyu, he asked, “Why has the marquis come too?” 

  Qian Yingchen lightly smiled and said, “It’s been a long time, and many new people have entered Tonghua Poetry Association since then. So, there’s even less people that know about the marquis’s connection to the association. He’s actually the head of the association, so he’s naturally the person that ought to attend this gathering the most.” 

  Everyone was surprised. Hearing this news, a lot of the people that had pursued Wen Wan back then felt slightly awkward now. 

  “Oh, so it’s like that. It’s only someone like that marquis, who has such great talent, that he’s able to be the head of the association for ten years.” After a pause, Sun Zhangyan couldn’t resist asking, “How’s Lesser Madam Ning doing?” 

  As soon as he asked this question, a lot of gazes fell on Ning Yuxuan. Ning Yuxuan lightly said, “She’s safe and sound in my estate. There’s no need for anyone to worry about her.” 

  It was definitely a bit improper to ask about someone’s concubine. After everyone awkwardly laughed, the topic was changed to something else. 

  No one was paying attention to Zhu Yurun. Ji Man was also similarly being ignored, so Zhu Yurun simply went over to her side and whispered, “I heard that you’ve gotten rich.” 

  Ji Man was smiling as she looked at her. “Yeah, I still need to give you a bonus too.” 

  Zhu Yurun giggled and said, “I’m not lacking in money. I just think you’re really awesome. If it was me, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do something like that.” 

  What other woman would have the courage to deal with a group of merchants? 

  Ji Man glanced at Qian Yingchen, who was standing at a distance. His lips were pursed as he conversed with Ning Yuxuan. Ji Man caught him red-handed when he turned around and glanced at Zhu Yurun. 

  Qian Yingchen awkwardly turned his gaze away. His expression didn’t look too good. Seeing this sight, Ji Man actually smiled. A foolish girl had a foolish girl’s good fortune. It seemed that Qian Yingchen wasn’t completely indifferent to Yurun. 

  Xiao Tianyi slowed his steps. His brow was furrowed as he looked at Ji Man and asked, “Are you Ji Rice Store’s owner?” 

  Ji Man nodded. She saluted with her hands and said, “This one is only a commoner. It’s this one’s fortunate to be able to go on the same outing as the prime minster today.” 

  After Xiao Tianyi examined Ji Man from top to bottom, he surprisingly smiled and softly said, “Heroes have come from the young since ancient times.” 

  After dropping these words, he walked past them and caught up to Sun Zhangyang. 

  Ji Man shrugged. Since she had received the prime minister’s praise, it meant that she hadn’t done anything wrong. It would soon be the autumn harvest. Since the Liu family, the Rong family, and the other rice merchant families had suffered major financial losses, they might not be able to afford paying the tenant farmers in accordance to their contracts. This would offer her the opportunity to snatch away their contracts with the tenant farmers. 

  By the time that next year came and the road between Zhangjun and the capital was completely built, she would have complete control over the rice in the capital. People in ancient times probably hadn’t experienced how horrifying a trade war was, much less how much threat that could be caused once a person grasped the flow of rice by its throat. 

  In theory, the government placed the highest importance on food, so they stressed the importance of agricultural and farmers while suppressing the merchants. They never bothered with paying too much attention to commerce. 

  In addition, there was a waste of labor and resources as Zhao Li enjoyed himself by having more buildings constructed in the palace. It really gave off the appearance of an incapable and fatuous ruler. He probably wouldn’t be able to remain sitting on his throne for too long. 

  As Ji Man was contemplating these thought, she heard someone shouting from the front of the group, “Hey, you, walk faster.” 

  These young nobles had come here to climb Fu Mountain. They had said that not only would they be able to go hiking, they would be able to reach the temple that was at the top of the mountain and pray for blessings. Although the mountain path here was considered walkable enough, it really was too high. Ji Man eventually ended up gasping for breath and sitting down with some of the women on the side of the road. 

  “This one and Tianyu will remained here to watch over the ladies. The other men can walk on ahead. If our group arrives at the temple too late, there might not be enough vacant rooms left,” Qian Yingchen said, “Since this a poetry gathering, there’s no need to pay attention to rank. Everyone will be treated equally.” 

  His words loosened the pressure that everyone had been feeling. One after another, everyone agreed. The married women and young ladies gathered in one area to rest while the other men continue to ascend the mountain. 

  Unfortunately, Ji Man was a man right now. 

  Standing in front of her, Ning Yuxuan stretched his hand out and said, “Come on, get up. Don’t stay here like a woman.”


  Chapter 383 – The fragrance of the flowers has already faded away in the mortal world (2) 

  With a miserable expression, Ji Man forced herself to get up. She had only come along because she wanted to see how Luo Qianqian was doing. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come here and be putting herself through this torment. Hiking boots didn’t exist in ancient time and wearing normal shoes to go hiking felt extremely uncomfortable. 

  Ning Yuxuan shot several fleeting glances at Ji Man and continued walking slowly with her. 

  At the front of the group, Sun Zhangyang turned his head to glance at the people lagging behind. He smiled and said, “Yuxuan, are you too tired to continue going up?” 

  “En, I’m going to take it easy.” Ning Yuxuan waved his hand and said, “You guys can continue walking ahead. I’ll follow behind the group with Mister Ji.” 

  “Alright.” Sun Zhangyang smiled and pulled Zhao Kaifeng along as he continued walking. 

  Ji Man cast a glance at Ning Yuxuan and lightly said, “Marquis, there’s no need for you to concern yourself with this one. This one can walk by myself.” 

  “Yingchen recently said there’s no need to pay attention to status.” Ning Yuxuan chuckled. Not looking at her, he asked, “So shouldn’t you be changing how you address me?” 

  After a pause, Ji Man curled her lip and said, “Yuxuan.” 

  Ning Yuxuan’s eyes slightly brightened. He turned his head away to look at the trees in the distance. “I feel a bit tired too. Let’s just walk slowly.” 

  “En.” Ji Man didn’t look at him either. 

  There was a large space between them as they walked side by side. The mountain path was very rugged, and neither of them said anything as they walked. 

  When they finally reached the temple at the top of the mountain, Ji Man suddenly felt a sense of happiness that came from heaving a sigh of relief as she looked at the setting sun. She turned her head to glance at the person next to her. Side by side, he was also quietly looking at the sunset. 

  “Do you feel a lot better now that you came out and walked around?” He asked. 

  Ji Man smiled. “I was already in a pretty good mood.” 

  Ning Yuxuan looked at her in askance. It looked as if there was scorn in his eyes. He didn’t bother say anything else and just turned around and led her into the temple. 

  Marquis Moyu had once brought his family to this temple to pray for blessings, and it looked as if a lot of money had been donated to this temple. Although this temple was at the top of a mountain, it was still exquisitely decorated. There were a lot of worshippers inside the temple, and it seemed as if the temple was out of guest rooms. 

  Ji Man was very worried until Ning Yuxuan said, “I sent someone up here in advance. There’ll be enough rooms for us. Everyone, let’s rest for now. Once the rest of the group arrives, we divided the rooms up after eating.” 

  A novice Buddhist monk led the group to the back of the temple. After the group had rested in the dining hall for a while, the rest of the group that comprised mostly of women had also arrived. This group of nobles appeared quite happy as they ate a simple meal of tofu and leafy vegetables. 

  There were only five rooms left, and there happened to bedding for two people in each room. Ji Man looked at the room in front of her then she looked at Ning Yuxuan, who was next her. She faked smiled and asked, “Yuxuan, didn’t you say there would be enough rooms?” 

  “En.” Ning Yuxuan didn’t have the slightest hint of shame on his face. He seriously said, “There’ll naturally be enough rooms if each room is shared by two people. There’s no need for us to treat each other like outsiders.” 

  On the side, Luo Qianqian cast a strange look at these two. She looked at Ji Man, then she said to Ning Yuxuan in low voice, “Qianqian heard that your household went through a tough period, and that Madam Ning has passed away during that time. Qianqian can empathize with your feelings. After all, Madam Ning was a very good person. But, she’s already gone now. You shouldn’t take her death so hard and act like this……” 

  There’s no need for you to get mixed up with another man, ah. If Madam Ning could see what was happening from the underworld, who knows how upset she would be feeling? 

  With a lowered smile, Ning Yuxuan said, “Thank you for your concern, Mister Ji is an honest sleeper and wouldn’t press me down. It’ll be fine. As for other issues, there’s no need to worry about them.” 

  Luo Qianqian gasped. This Marquis Moyu wasn’t even making an attempt at concealment. He was obviously planning on favoring a man. No wonder she had heard that the owner of Ji Rice Store was very tricky. As it turned out, he had Marquis Moyu supporting him from behind the scenes. 

  Remembering Madam Ning, Luo Qianqian felt a bit dejected. She had really admired that woman’s intelligence and magnanimous personality. If it wasn’t for her, she and Kaifeng’s relationship wouldn’t have progressed to their current point. This temple had Madam Ning’s memorial table, so she was planning on going over there to pay her respects later. 

  After looking at Ji Man with a grieving look, Luo Qianqian turned around and left. 

  The corners of Ji Man’s lips twitched. She followed Ning Yuxuan into the room and saw that there was only one bed. Five women had come along on this trip, but she was the only one that was cross-dressing, so she couldn’t share a room with anyone else. Since this was a very popular temple, there weren’t any extra vacant rooms left. 

  If Ning Yuxuan hadn’t done this deliberately, she would write her name backwards! 

  However, when she glanced at him to check his expression, he didn’t seem to be paying special attention to anything. 

  After changing into a pair of lightweight shoes, he looked at her and asked, “Do you want to go look at your memorial tablet?” 

  Ji Man furrowed her brow. In order to fool other people, he had put a memorial tablet for Nie Sangyu. But, Nie Sangyu’s spirit was still in her body. If she got too closed to the memorial table, would a mishap occur? It’s not like there was a fraudulent sorcerer around to help her out. 

  “No, this one will just take a stroll around the temple.” Ji Man felt stifled by being in the same room as him. She turned around and walked out of the room. 

  It was bit chilly on the mountain. As the cold night wind blew by, Ji Man actually discovered a grove of flowering peach trees. 

  It was already autumn at the bottom of the mountain, so it was surprising to see peach blossoms in the mountain. Just as Ji Man was sighing with emotion over this, she heard a monk’s voice saying, “Madam if you’re seeking a happy marriage, there’s still five unclaimed trees here. You can carve your beloved’s name onto one of them. If the tree is well, your marriage will naturally become well too.” 

  (T/N: The title of this chapter is from the first line of Peach Blossoms of Dalin Temple by Bai Juyi. The poet was lamenting that spring is over, but then he sees that spring has merely moved to the temple. )

  Chapter 384 – Faithfulness to Buddha and faithfulness to you (1) 

  Feeling a jolt of surprise, Ji Man turned her head and saw that Luo Qianqian was talking to a monk. Those two people weren’t standing far from her. It was only that the peach blossoms were partially obstructing their view. 

  Luo Qianqian placed her palms together and asked out of curiosity, “What will happen if that tree dies?” 

  The monk answered with a smile, “All of the peach trees here are well looked after. Although their flowers blossom later because of the colder weather on the mountain, they’ll still blossom. The peach trees that hold each of the donor’s heartfelt intentions are even less likely to die.” 

  These trees were the same as those frequently seen altar lamps that burned day and night in modern-day temples. They were both used to swindle people out of their money. Once Ji Man heard the monk’s reply to Luo Qianqian’s question of how much each tree cost, she immediately understood why there was still five trees without any carvings. 

  Although there were plenty of fools, there were very few fools that had that much money. 

  Ji Man lowered her head in the peach tree grove as she shuffled around. Should she come out and greet Luo Qianqian, or should she secretly leave first? 

  As she passed by a peach tree, she noticed that there was something carved on the tree trunk. Ji Man swept her gaze over it. Anyways, the carvings on these trees were just other people’s names. 

  But, when she looked at it, she saw that it was Nie Sangyu’s. 

  Dumbstruck, Ji Man crouched down by the tree for a while before snorting and walking away. 

  The carving looked like it had been carved a long time ago. Someone had probably carved that name out of impulsive after climbing up the mountain to pray at the temple for blessings. Perhaps, Wen Wan, Liu Hanyun, and Qi Siling’s names had also been carved on nearby trees. 

  After walking a few steps, Ji Man turned around and narrowed her eyes as she checked the trees nearby the one with Nie Sangyu’s name. 

  She didn’t see any familiar names. 

  Ji Man pursed her lips. Really, it was a bit laughable. If Ning Yuxuan had been the one that carved that name, then it must have happened when he had brought the rest of the household here with him to pray for blessings. What was the point that he was trying to make by leaving her behind in the capital to face Nie Clan’s sudden and unexpected calamity by herself while he came here to lovingly carve a name? 

  She really couldn’t understand the feelings of ancient people. If someone told her that Ning Yuxuan sincerely loved her, Ji Man wouldn’t believe that person. While it was possible that Ning Yuxuan might like her, if her importance to him was compared to how much he valued his great endeavors, she would definitely be flung three Pacific Oceans away. 

  She didn’t want to have any emotional involvement here, much less have it with Ning Yuxuan. If she fell in love with a man like Marquis Moyu, she would definitely be the one that was hurt. 

  Shaking her head, Ji Man left the peach tree grove through another exit. Behind her, Luo Qianqian was earnestly carving Zhao Kaifeng’s name onto a tree. 

  — 

  That evening, the group gathered together to sit around the temple’s most respected and virtuous elder monk and wrote poems of meditation. The space was brightly lit with candles. For the members of Tonghua Poetry Association, they excelled at this type of thing. However, Zhu Yurun was obviously very bad at this. She was so nervous that her hands were very clammy, and she kept looking at Qian Yingchen. 

  Qian Yingchen didn’t look at her and was focused on writing a poem on a small, thin piece of wood. 

  Ji Man was sitting on the other side of Zhu Yurun. After she casually wrote out a poem, she looked at the blank piece of wood that Zhu Yurun was holding. She took the piece of wood from her, wrote out a poem, and calmly stuffed it back into Zhu Yurun’s hand. 

  Zhu Yurun gratefully nodded several times. 

  Everyone’s poem would be read aloud. Qian Yingchen wasn’t expecting that Zhu Yurun would be able to write a good poem. It would be good enough if she could write a line or two. Recently, right after dinner, Xiao Tianyi had come over and asked him why he would marry Miss Zhu. In the eyes of other people, he had suffered a great loss by marrying Zhu Yurun. 

  Luo Qianqian, who wasn’t aware of the rumors around Zhu Yurun, was only the only married woman in the group that was friendly towards her. The other madams all looked at Zhu Yurun in askance. Zhu Yurun had neither talent nor beauty. She really wasn’t suitable to come along on this outing. 

  Qian Yingchen had thought about having her stay home, but if he did that, he might end up seeing a pitiful-looking and bullied steamed bun when he returned from this trip. Thinking of it that way, he decided that he might as well bring her with him. 

  The great monk opened his eyes and started to take the thin pieces of wood from the guests. He had already looked at several of the poems without saying a word, but his eyes brightened when he saw Zhu Yurun’s poem. 

  I’d go out for a walk alone when I so please, 

  What a pleasure this brings, only I would know. 

  Stroll to the river’s source, 

  And watch the clouds rise. 

  (T/N: These lines are from My Retreat in the Zhongnan Mountains by Wang Wei. The first two lines are from https://28utscprojects.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/123. The second part of the poem has become an optimistic idiom that figuratively means even when you’re at a dead end, there’s still hope.) 

  “This female donor is very broad-minded and unfetteredly elegant.” The great monk handed the poem back to her, pressed both palms together, and said, “What a rare sight.” 

  Everyone was slightly stunned. Qian Yingchen took the thin piece of wood from Zhu Yurun. After reading it, he raised his head and looked at her with a furrowed brow. 

  Zhu Yurun felt somewhat guilty and started to instinctively lean towards Ji Man. 

  However, before she had gotten halfway there, Qian Yingchen pulled her back to her original position. “Sit here and don’t move.” 

  Once that thin piece of wood was passed around the group, the married women looked at Zhu Yurun with slightly warmer gazes. In the end, they were a group of people that had gathered together because of talent. Talent was the most important thing to them. 

  Zhu Yurun shrunk her neck and didn’t say a word. 

  The great monk took Ji Man’s thin piece of wood next. After the great monk muttered a few words to himself, he actually loudly laughed before reading it aloud, 

  “Ashamed that my feelings have dirtied the holy path, 

  I remained afraid of the alluring beauty after entering the mountain. 

  In this world, who can fulfill both, 

  Faithfulness to Buddha and faithfulness to you.” 

  (This poem is by the 6th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tsangyang Gyatso. The translation is from https://snowjadeflowers.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/faithful-to-buddha-faithful-to-you/ with tiny edits for clarity.) 

  “Donor, you’re truly a mortal world mediator. Even a monk might have deep feelings of love.” The great monk laughed for a while. Looking at Ji Man with a bright gaze, “This is truly a good poem. Donor’s beloved must be a breath-taking beauty for the donor to compare her to Buddha.” 

  En, Ji Man also really liked this poem by Tsangyang Gyatso. She placed her palms together and respectfully answered the great monk, “Earthly feelings are pervasive, and this one is unable to part with them. It’s good that the great monk is able to chortle with delight over it.” 

  Translator Ramblings: I think it’s reasonable that the other married women look down Zhu Yurun. She had the same opportunities as the other women in the gathering to learn how to write poetry, but she wasn’t interested in learning that skill and chose to squander her opportunities. It’s perfectly okay that she has different interests from Qian Yingchen, but I think it’s fair that there’s going to be negative consequences when she chooses to not learn useful skills and wants to marry a man based on his looks. 

  Just like Zhu Yurun, Luo Qianqian doesn’t have stellar looks, but she chose to work hard on learning useful skills, so that she can be judged favorably on her accomplishments. It was nice of Ji Man to write a poem for Zhu Yurun, but is continuing to save Zhu Yurun from the consequences of her previous choices and giving a false impression a good idea in the long-term? 

  Anyways, I like how the author created a character like Zhu Yurun, and her messy relationship with Qian Yingchen. Neither of them are bad people. Zhu Yurun is a very sweet girl, who doesn’t have any bad intentions, but they’re fundamentally not suitable for each other. If something doesn’t change between them, Ji Man’s interference can only serve as a temporary fix. 

  What do you guys think?

  Chapter 385 – Faithfulness to Buddha and faithfulness to you (2) 

  After Ning Yuxuan looked at that thin piece of wood, he shot her a glance and flashed her an insincere smile. 

  Ji Man had her gaze fixed on reading other people’s poems. 

  — 

  The moonlight was very beautiful tonight. Ning Yuxuan and her were walking through a covered corridor and were passing by several guest rooms on their way back to their room. He had been mumbling to himself this entire way, and he finally couldn’t resist asking, “Faithfulness to Buddha and faithfulness to you. Who exactly is your beloved?” 

  Ji Man looked at him disdainfully. Curling her lip, she said, “It’s not you, marquis. You don’t need to worry about it.” 

  “Is that so?” Ning Yuxuan didn’t get angry. He looked at the moonlight as he lightly said, “It’s rumored that people that say one thing, but mean something else will be punished with the pain of five lightning bolts.” 

  “Alright, let’s have an extra fierce tempest come over here then.” Ji Man made a gesture as if she was hugging the sun, then she put her hands back down, yawned, and said, “Marquis, you can sleep on the floor tonight.” 

  Ning Yuxuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “This type of place, I’ll catch a cold if I sleep on the floor.” 

  “I’ll sleep on the floor then. I’m very healthy.” Ji Man started making a bed for herself on the ground as soon as she entered the room. 

  “Do you dislike me that much?” Ning Yuxuan let out an extremely helpless sigh. “I wouldn’t do anything to you.” 

  The three big lies that men tell: I love you. She’s only a friend. I wouldn’t do something like that. 

  Ji Man rolled her eyes. With a slight smile, she said, “Marquis, this one is a restless sleeper and is worried about offending you. Please let me off.” 

  Ning Yuxuan chuckled and really did lie down on the bed. He watched as Ji Man laid down two layers of cotton wadding on the floor, then she covered the layers with a thick quilt. 

  To be honest, the floor still felt a bit cold. However, since she had encountered an unchivalrous person like Ning Yuxuan, she didn’t hold any hopes that he would be willing to switch with her. Anyways, it was fine as long as they were sleeping in different spots. The other aspects weren’t important. 

  The two of them passed the night in silence. 

  — 

  When Ji Man woke up the next day, she was already in the bed. 

  Ning Yuxuan had his arms on top of her waist and shoulders. No wonder she had dreamed of the sky collapsing last night. Ji Man coldly looked at Ning Yuxuan, who was still asleep. She sat up and moved over him to get off the bed. After she was dressed in her outer robes, she opened the doors and all of the windows. The early morning wind blew into the room, and the cold air immediately woke up Ning Yuxuan. 

  “Why did you open everything?” He had been deeply asleep, and his eyes were a bit dazed. He actually looked sort of stupidly adorable. 

  Ji Man slightly smiled. “Marquis, it’s time for you to wake up. Don’t we still have to go down the mountain today?” 

  Ning Yuxuan rolled over to face her. He pouted and asked, “Do you not like this place?” 

  Why would she like a temple? Ji Man really couldn’t relate. “I like my home more.” 

  Ning Yuxuan’s gaze didn’t find a focus point for a long time. He dimly said, “I though this place was pretty good when I came here last time. It’s far from the secular world. Problems can’t find me here.” 

  “That’s just running away from your problems.” Ji Man insincerely smiled. “Someone of your position can’t escape from his responsibilities. Marquis, you should be going back. There’s definitely a lot of work waiting for you.” 

  If they went back, she would be living far away from him and have to deal with merchants every day. She looked exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes were getting worse. 

  Ning Yuxuan lightly harrumphed. “It’s so rare for us to come out. Let’s stay here a little longer. Oh, by the way, I heard that Huainan’s autumn harvest is pretty good this year. Although there were a lot of places that had a poor harvest this year, there were also a lot places that had a bumper harvest. The imperial court will also be releasing grain soon, so the price for it will become stabilized. How much grain do you have left?” 

  He was actually showing concern about her business? Ji Man pursed her lips and honestly answered, “I already rushed to sell off my original stock when the timing was right. The imperial court will be taking part of the autumn harvest, but there will still be enough supply left for me to buy and resell for a several of months without having to worry.” 

  “En.” Ning Yuxuan nodded. “So, let’s go back tomorrow.” 

  Tomorrow? Ji Man furrowed her brow. She had thought that this trip would only take a day and a night, so she had already made plans to have a meal with Director Tang. The competition in the rice market had been fierce lately, so she naturally had to ensure that her connections with those in higher positions were good by giving them gifts. 

  The smile on Marquis Moyu was put away, and he was very serious as he asked her, “Is there a problem?” 

  Ji Man shook her head. If she compared him and Director Tang, it would obviously be worse to offend him. 

  — 

  Ji Man was happy about getting an extra day off from having to look at accounts. She listened on as the group of men from Tonghua Poetry Association occasionally chatted about state affairs. 

  At noon, everyone felt that eating a vegetarian meal wouldn’t be flavorful enough, so the group decided that they would go out to hunt some wild animals and eat roasted meat outside of the temple. Of course, this work would fall onto the men. 

  As a “man”, Ji Man obediently carried a bow and arrows as she followed after Marquis Moyu. 

  There were wild rabbits on the mountain, and Ning Yuxuan shot an arrow through a rabbit’s head on his first try. 

  Seeing this sight, Ji Man was startled. Her brow was deeply furrowed. 

  “Why are you making that face?” Ning Yuxuan curled his lip and said, “Don’t tell me that you feel sympathetic towards your food. It’s not like you’re a woman.” 

  Ji Man took the rabbit and put into a bag. She murmured, “I don’t.” 

  “Good.” Ning Yuxuan saw another rabbit. As he raised the bow and aimed it, he said to her, “You have to be ruthless towards your opponent. If you show kindness, you’ll be that one that’s hungry.” 

  Was he giving her a lesson? Ji Man scoffed. Of course, she already knew this. 

  —


  Chapter 386 – Each mountain is higher than the previous one (1) 

  Everyone was slightly surprised. They could get over Marquis Moyu bringing a rice shop owner to their group outing. After all, that person had received the great monk’s praise, and he wrote pretty good poems too. But, they had already left the mountain. Why would he ask them to go to a rice shop to eat when there were perfectly good restaurants around? 

  What was there to eat at a rice shop? Rice? 

  Ji Man also found Ning Yuxuan’s suggestion a bit unexpected. These people were either members of the imperial family or important court officials. Why would he suggest taking them to a rice shop to eat? 

  In the midst of the following silence, Qian Yingchen was the one that broke it by saying, “That’s a good idea. Ji Store was the one that sold the tribute rice this year. We should go over there to see what that rice tastes like.” 

  Eh? Many officials’ households purchased Ji Store’s rice. Why wouldn’t they have already had the chance to try the tribute rice? Everyone knew that Qian Yingchen was only saying these words to help. Still, since Marquis Moyu had already spoken, the group didn’t have a reason to refuse. 

  And so, the group boarded three carriages and headed over to Ji Store. 

  — 

  During the past two days that Ji Man had spent on the mountain, a problem had arisen in the rice store. There would naturally be repercussions to Ji Man gouging out money from the hands of sly old foxes. Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong could be considered to have shed all pretenses of cordiality with Ji Man. When the unit price of rice had fallen to ten silver coins, they had filed a formal complaint with the government. They said that Ji Store was maliciously lowering the price of rice. By causing the rice price in the capital to be unstable, it had caused a few major rice shops to go bankrupt. 

  Normally, this would be beyond the scope of this dynasty’s laws. However, this time, Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong had amassed a large sum of money by selling off a few of their family properties to use for bribery. After this money had been passed through many hands, they were able to meet with the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Justice. They did their best to draw them to their side through bribery. Ji Store had to fall to ruin in order for them to make up their losses. 

  And so, the government accepted this case. During the time that Ji Man wasn’t around, Yan Buba had been taken to a government office and interrogated. A constable had remained in Ji Store to catch Ji Man when he returned. 

  Although Shopkeeper Liu felt quite distressed about giving up so much money, sacrifices had to be made in order to obtain his goal. Since Ji Store had Assistant Minister Zhu supporting it, he could only bribe that greedy and insatiable Minister of Revenue. Although the cost he had to pay felt quite painful, everything would be worth it once Ji Store collapsed! 

  Shopkeeper Liu had already checked. Assistant Minister Zhu was currently busy with other matters. After Zhu Shuyou had receiving his superior’s order, he no longer had the intention of protecting Ji Store. No matter what happened next, Ji Store was doomed. 

  — 

  Inside the carriage, Ji Man sneezed and received Ning Yuxuan’s glance. “I already told you to sleep on the bed, but you insisted on being stubborn.” 

  “How could the humble me have the right to share a bed with the marquis?” As she sniffled, Ji Man looked at the other important people in the carriage. She silently grumbled. Where could she get food that would satisfy this group of people? 

  After figuring it out, she sent a person to the rice shop ahead of the group to tell Yan Buba to order takeout from Luoyan Pagoda. Ji Man had no hope that this group of nobles would be interested in her simple home cooking after they had eaten vegetarian meals for the past two days. Naturally, the more meat there was, the better. 

  Holding his reward money, the passerby ran to the rice shop. But, when he got there, a constable stopped him. 

  — 

  When Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong heard that Owner Ji was coming back, they left their dinners behind and hurriedly rushed to Ji Store to watch the good show. 

  Thinking of how Ji Man had so easily taken away the money they had earned through blood and sweat and taken many years to save up, both shopkeepers practically had their teeth set on edge. They wanted nothing more than to see Ji Man being dragged away and locked away in the imperial prison. 

  The constable that was stationed at the store had also been notified. He would immediately arrest as Ji Man as soon as he caught sight of him. 

  — 

  The three carriages slowly reached Ji Rice Store. Right after Ji Man disembarked from the carriage, she was seized and restrained by the constable before she even knew what was going on. 

  “What are you doing?” Ji Man furrowed her brow. 

  The constable asked, “Are you the owner of Ji Rice Store?” 

  The shopkeepers that had come to watch the show hurriedly cried out, “It’s him! It’s him! He’s Ji Man!” 

  The constable nodded. Just as he was about to bring the detained person away, people started to come out of the carriage. When the first person that came down from the carriage saw the scene, he didn’t bother saying a single word and went straight to kicking away the constable that had Ji Man restrained. 

  The person that had come out of the carriage was wearing a simple robe, but he had a very attractive face. He had such a mild, gentlemanly appearance; no one would have thought that he was the one that had just violently kicked someone. 

  Ning Yuxuan stretched his hand out and pulled Ji Man over. He swept his glance over the constable and asked, “Which government office are you from?” 

  “This one is following Jing Zhaoyin’s order to arrest Ji Store’s owner, Ji Man.” The constable looked at the person in front of him for a few moments. He didn’t recognize this person and only thought that he had an out of ordinary presence. He guessed that this person was probably just the son of an official. 

  “Oh? And, why are you arresting him?” As Ning Yuxuan asked this question, he had the carriage driver hold up the carriage’s front curtain. One after another, the curious people, who had been behind him, disembarked from the carriage. They hadn’t even eaten yet, and this constable was going to arrest Ji Man? 

  Suddenly faced with a large group of men and women that were dressed out of the ordinary, the constable felt slightly panicky. He retreated a step and said, “This is an order from above. This one isn’t sure either.” 

  “Above?” Xiao Tianyi raised his eyebrows. He glanced at Ning Yuxuan before asking, “Which official is it?” 

  On the side, Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong felt there was something off about these people’s attitudes. It couldn’t be that Ji Man had gone off somewhere and met more important officials, right? However, after looking at the group and only recognizing a few of the people, they decided that this group of people couldn’t possibly be that important. After all, they had even met someone as high-ranking as the Minister of Revenue before.

  Chapter 387 – Each mountain is higher than the previous one (2) 

  After thinking it over, Shopkeeper Rong and the other shopkeepers ran over to the governmental office to seek assistance for that constable. 

  Looking at Xiao Tianyi, the constable felt wrong-footed and only answered that it was Jing Zhaoyin. 

  “Tell him to come. We’ll be waiting inside,” said Xiao Tianyi. As he led the group of people inside, he said to them, “We haven’t had dinner yet. I feel really hungry. Let’s head in first.” 

  Ji Man furrowed her brow as she looked Shopkeeper Liu, who was in the middle of the departing group. Really, as soon as she saw him, something bad had happened. She had left them a way out by not monopolizing all of the tenant farmers contracts in one swoop, but they had secretly plotted to make life difficult for her. 

  Sure enough, she was one of those people that had a tongue like a sharp knife, but a soft tofu heart. Every time that she thought she had been ruthless enough, she still ended up giving people a way out. Giving her enemies a way out was the same as blocking her own path. 

  Ning Yuxuan’s reminder really hadn’t gone to waste. 

  After entering the rice store and finding a private room on the second floor for this group, Ji Man ordered a shop assistant to buy snacks and order food. 

  The group, which had recently been famished, had their hunger for food replaced by curiosity for Ji Store. 

  “Owner Ji, are you an unscrupulous merchant?” Sun Zhangyang asked. 

  With a blackened expression, Ji Man shook her head. “This one conducts my business within the rules.” She had just used some tricks and earned more money than others. 

  “Why would a constable come to arrest you then?” Sun Zhangyang mumbled, “Or, did you kidnap and sell someone’s daughter?” 

  Did she look like a kidnapper? Ji Man didn’t know where to laugh or cry. 

  On the side, Zhu Yurun quietly said, “Mister Ji is a good person.” 

  It wasn’t surprising that Qian Yingchen would sneer in response to her defense. 

  Zhu Yurun pouted and fell silent. 

  — 

  Before the ordered food had even arrived, the group of rice store shopkeepers had returned with Jing Zhaoyin. Jing Zhaoyin was also feeling quite helpless. If the Minister of Revenue hadn’t ordered him in advance, he wouldn’t have left his own dinner to come here to handle this business. 

  “Where is that group of people?” Jing Zhaoyin grumbled, “Why hasn’t the constable arrested that person yet? A person that has committed a crime has to be arrested. It doesn’t matter who is trying protect this criminal!” 

  The shop assistant was trembling in fear as he led this person upstairs. The shopkeepers stayed downstairs and looked around Ji Store. They evilly smiled as they examined the white rice with their hands. 

  However, only a short time had passed when Jing Zhaoyin came downstairs by himself and left the store without saying a word to anyone. He got onto his sedan chair and simply left. 

  “Sir?!” The shopkeepers were stunned. They couldn’t figure out what had happened, so they hurriedly chased after the sedan chair. 

  Unexpectedly, a fat hand came out from the sedan chair and Jing Zhaoyin said, “Go find someone else. This official can’t settle this case. This person isn’t someone that you can sue!” 

  Can’t sue? Why not? The rice shopkeepers couldn’t figure it out. Still, they couldn’t let that person off so easily. They had paid such an expensive price! 

  For someone to have scared off Jing Zhaoyin, could it be that there was a really high ranking official on the second floor? Shopkeeper Liu thought it over. How high of a rank could that official possibly be? It couldn’t be possible for that official to win over the Minister of Revenue, who was second-rank official, right? 

  With their heads hanged low in disgrace, the shopkeepers paid another visit to the Minister of Revenue, Li Licheng. 

  Since Li Lichen had taken their bribes, he naturally had to help them out. When he heard that Jing Zhaoyin had actually refused to handle this task, he wondered who could possibly be at Ji Store? 

  Feeling a bit curious, Li Lichen got onto a sedan chair and went to Ji Rice Store. 

  — 

  In the meantime, Ji Man had already treated the group to dishes and snacks from Luoyan Pagoda. Everyone thought that he was very attentive in knowing that their group used to like food from Luoyan Pagoda the most. 

  After the dinner, when the group was starting to feeling bored, someone came up to announce that the Minister of Revenue had arrived. 

  “For such a small rice store, it certainly has a big reputation.” Luo Qianqian covered her slight smile. “There’s so many people here, and we’ve all eaten Mister Ji’s food. We definitely won’t let you suffer any grievance.” 

  Ji Man saluted with her hands. She felt cold sweat gathering on her back. She really had to thank Ning Yuxuan for being carried away by a whim and saying he wanted to eat dinner at Ji Rice Store. Otherwise, who knows, she might have been delivered to the imperial prison under dubious reasons. If someone came to save her later, at minimum, she would probably already be missing a few layers of skin. 

  When Li Lichen entered the rice store, he felt slightly displeased to see that there weren’t many people here to greet him. He felt even unhappier when he heard that Ji Man and the guests were still upstairs. 

  Looking at the Minister of Revenue’s expression, Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong felt overjoyed. They hurriedly led the way upstairs and entered the room after him. 

  Fortunately, the room on the second floor was big enough. It was a room that Ji Man normally used to hold meetings with the shop assistants, so it wasn’t difficult to accommodated this number of people. 

  However, as soon as Li Licheng had entered the room, the mood in the room immediately changed. The group of people that had been telling jokes and chatting immediately stopped and looked at the doorway. 

  Li Licheng hadn’t expected to see these people. His complexion immediately paled. 

  Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong were standing behind him. Seeing that the Minister of Revenue wasn’t saying anything, they thought they were helping him by shouting, “The Minister of Revenue is here. Why aren’t you saluting him?” 

  Ji Man’s heart jumped. They had brought over the Minister of Revenue? Could it be that Shopkeeper Liu and Shopkeeper Rong were willing to pay any price in order to ruin Ji Store? 

  “This one is Ji Man. Greetings, Minister of Revenue.” Ji Man saluted first. 

  On the side, Sun Zhangyan also saluted and greeted, “Sir Li.” 

  To the surprise of the shopkeepers, Sir Li didn’t start throwing his weight around. Instead, after a pause, he walked over to Xiao Tianyi and Ning Yuxuan and respectfully cupped one fist in the other hand. “It’s unexpected to be able to meet with the prime minister and the marquis here.”