Too high to reach

Chapter 238 Sentiments Change with Circumstances
After lunch, this group of people left.

A few more people came in the afternoon, but it wasn't as lively as in the morning, but they all still made a lot of money.

By evening, Mo Yi and the others were too tired to even speak.

After reviewing the accounts, Mo Yi felt completely revitalized: if every day could be like this, she would be willing to endure any exhaustion.

When I got home, I quickly washed up and went to bed early, yawning, without even a dream.

As Mo Yuan lay in bed, the image of the woman's imposing manner while shopping during the day kept replaying in her mind. That man must have spent a fortune upstairs!
Oh dear... she rolled over: I wonder what kind of woman could be treated like this.

I wonder if becoming the Crown Prince's woman will allow her to spend money as she pleases...

Little did she know, the Crown Prince was currently calculating the amount of money he could afford to spend.

As the crown prince, he wouldn't have mountains of silver at his disposal, much less the money to spend as he pleased.

Of his income, only a limited amount comes from legitimate sources.

Private property is incomparable to that of the emperor.

When a government is established, funds will be allocated according to regulations.

Normally, it consists of the crown prince's salary and various benefits, as well as the income from his properties.

In addition, there were the Emperor's rewards and the Empress's assistance.

Of course, during holidays and festivals, there are also many gifts from the younger generation.

There are also instances of using one's power to promote officials, sell information, profit from speculative investments, settle disputes, and pocket money while punishing corrupt officials. However, these actions are usually limited, as one cannot go too far. Otherwise, any slip-up could jeopardize one's position.

All of the above amounts to tens of thousands, which adds up to a considerable annual income.

However, his expenses were also considerable.

The household needs to maintain a respectable lifestyle, and must show respect to superiors during holidays and festivals. Crucially, they also need to support their own staff, cultivate relationships, and gather intelligence.

For example, in a few days, Liang You, the new Marquis of Jing'an, will inherit the title! He will have troops under his command! It will be the perfect time to win him over. Therefore, gifts must be given. And so on, the examples are countless.

Silver came in like water and went out like a torrent... only a limited amount actually ended up in his hands. This situation would probably continue until he ascended the throne.

The upcoming grand competition is the perfect opportunity to win over various factions...

However, things didn't go as planned regarding the western suburban camp and the salt...

The western suburban camp gave Li Chang the silver allocated by the imperial court for the grand martial arts competition, and the amount he could steal would be limited.

Since their own people couldn't take charge of the salt business, they probably wouldn't dare to open their mouths too much about the several large sums of money that had already been secured.

Alas, he is indeed the crown prince, but even the crown prince cannot do whatever he wants.

For example, right now, he has a place where he needs a lot of money, which he can't just take out casually; he has to plan and raise the funds.

Just when things were starting to look promising, Li Pu arrived.

After chatting for a while, Li Pu said that his princess's cousin's cousin's friend... went to the shop that Princess Qi just opened today and said that business was booming, and the goods were being snatched up like they were worthless...

"Wow, so capable? So, this young lady is quite something." The Crown Prince stroked his chin, thinking of Mo Yi, the girl in green beside her... and some past events... a wicked smile appeared on his lips.

"What are you laughing at?" Li Pu asked him.

The crown prince coughed, "It's nothing..."

……

That evening, Mo Fan came home and said that he and Zhang Debao were going to participate in the grand competition.

However, Zhang Debao sought the reason from the Crown Prince. As for Mo Fan, he was directly seconded to the Western Suburbs Camp.

"We work together, but we're under different superiors. Isn't that interesting?!"

Mo Rushan smiled and nodded, "Work hard and do a good job, and you might get promoted this year."

Today, he was also summoned for a talk by Liu Ge Lao's subordinates. They asked him to write an essay on his understanding of the salt tax and submit it... If his abilities caught Liu Ge Lao's eye and he could get involved... that would be a great opportunity for him, one with both reputation and real power.

……

The princess fulfilled her promise to Xu Ke, and Xu Ke remained a leader, in charge of a certain area.

So he was in a good mood when he got home today.

After Mo Wen helped him wash up, the two sat down and talked: "Today I went to my sister's shop. My goodness, it was so lively, it almost lifted the roof off. I must say, business is really good."

"Did you support the girl?" Xu Ke asked with a smile. "Of course! Look at this, this is what I bought..." Mo Wen took it out to show him.

"This is... a purse?" Xu Ke examined it.

"Hmm, pretty much... looks good, right!?"

"Heh, what a strange appearance. How much silver is one of these?"

"Eighty-eight taels."

"How much?!" Xu Ke exclaimed in surprise. The purses that ordinary people wear every day are usually made by the skillful girls in their families.

Those who were more particular would go to embroidery shops to buy their wares; for ten or twenty taels of silver, they could get quite a good piece. Although Xu Ke was also a big spender, he wasn't without a sense of budget.

“Oh my, look at this! How fine the material is! How exquisite the workmanship is! You can’t buy this kind of silk mesh in the market, and it’s even sewn with pearls…” Mo Wen showed off like a little girl.

“If you hadn’t told me it was a pearl, I wouldn’t have recognized it… It’s as big as a grain of rice…” Xu Ke teased her.

“You don’t understand, it’s just an ornament. It makes things look more valuable. It’s shiny and goes perfectly with pearl jewelry. I bought two and gave one to my mother, and she loved it. When my grandmother saw it, she complained about why I hadn’t thought of her…” Mo Wen was overjoyed.

“Okay…” Xu Ke looked at Mo Wen’s expression and felt a touch of tenderness in her heart.

"And... look!" Mo Wen produced a leather bag as if by magic. "This is for you!"

"what……"

“Bao, aren’t you going to be busy lately? Look…” Mo Wen stood up, placed the leather bag on Xu Ke’s bottom, and then tied a knot in front of her.

"That's how it is... When you go out on business, you just put official documents, loose change, and the like here, fasten the belt, and then ride off on horseback. You won't lose anything, and you don't have to worry about light rain. Isn't that convenient?"

Xu Ke fiddled with it for a bit, thought about it, and realized that if it was tied securely, it wouldn't bounce around with the horse. It was indeed quite good.

"Thank you very much then..."

"We're husband and wife, so please don't be so polite. I'm glad you like it..."

"Don't you want to do anything yourself?" Xu Ke asked casually.

Mo Wen replied very seriously: "I own a shop, which originally had a lease. After it expired... my uncle has a tea master who can make fragrant teas, such as flower tea, fruit tea, jujube tea, and roasted rice tea."

Seeing my sister's shop today, I realized that making money from young ladies and women is quite easy. No, I'll open that shop myself someday. I'll specialize in tea for young ladies; who knows, it might even run alongside my sister's business!

As expected of Wang's daughter, Mo Wen immediately had an idea as soon as she saw Mo Yi's business today.

"Okay. I'll give you some money later. If you like it, make it beautiful."

"Thank you, my husband..." His intimacy filled Mo Wen with joy, and she did not refuse, instead snuggling up to Xu Ke and acting coquettishly.

Xu Ke turned around and gently put his arm around her. "I'll be busy these days. Tonight, I'll spend some quality time with you..."

……

The next day, most of the people who came to the shop were acquaintances.

Madam Wang, along with Mo Qing, Aunt Wang, and Mrs. Liang, with Liang Xin, arrived as arranged.

In front of Mo Yi, Wang Shi was much gentler than before. But she still couldn't bring herself to get close to her. She was afraid that she might lose her temper and offend this powerful figure with her words, so she tried to avoid her as much as possible.

Aunt Wang, as always, loved to joke. She'd been to the lantern festival a couple of days ago and, upon returning home, had thrown several tea parties to boast about it! Moreover, her son and Wang's nephew were both skilled in arithmetic and accounting. Now, the Prince had even arranged jobs for them.

This time, I was borrowed to work at the West Suburbs Camp.

If you do well, you'll have no problem getting a government position in the future.

That would be a major event, a change of allegiance!

Aunt Wang was filled with gratitude for Mo Yi. When she arrived at the shop, she busied herself buying things for the girls in her family.

When Mo Qing arrived, there weren't enough eyes to take it all in. Everyone was shouting and yelling, wanting everything!

She originally thought that since she was the princess's younger sister, the shop belonged to her older sister.

Once you're here, you can take whatever you want, right?

As a result, Mo Yi gave her a bracelet that everyone has, plus a zodiac-themed purse, and decisively rejected her other requests.

Mo Qing was very unhappy, her not-so-pretty little face was sullen, and she was pouting.

But now, she dares not cause trouble anymore.

Wang saw it, but she didn't dare to stand up for her or make a decision for her...