After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

As the clicking sounds of the door panels being removed echoed continuously, the workers stacked the elm wood door panels one by one to the side, and the much-anticipated Baiyufang finally opened its doors.

The crowd, three layers deep, began to surge inwards, and at the same time, shouts and yells erupted like firecrackers.

"Damn it! What are you pushing for?!" "Two hundred and eighty-two coins, anyone selling?" "How many?" "One!" "What are you buying with just one?" "Three hundred! Less than three hundred coins! I won't sell a single one!" "Damn it! I sold too early yesterday, lost five hundred taels!" "Buy it back... I'll be a dog if I sell it again after I buy it back..."

The sounds of footsteps, cursing and arguing, regretful vows, and the hoarse shouts of the Imperial Guards ordering "Line up, line up!" spread through the air in waves.

Zhu Xianzhe smelled the aroma of pre-Qingming tea, a smile playing on his lips as he looked out onto the street. Under the shroud of a thin mist, many people dressed in fine clothes waved their arms, clutching silver bills in their hands, and surged into Baiyufang.

"Interesting," he chuckled.

The steward Zhang Qingping had arranged had already rushed in, and servants would come and go, announcing prices so that he and Zhang Qingping could be informed in time and new orders could be issued.

Prince Qi, Zhu Ensong, glanced at them but said nothing more. After whispering a few words to Dou Yuan, he stood up and said with a smile that he had important matters to attend to today and would not stay with his nephew and niece any longer. Zhu Xianze and Zhu Jiamu immediately stood up to see them off.

"How much does the princess think the price will rise today?"

After seeing off Prince Qi and Dou Yuan, Zhu Xianze addressed Princess Tang.

"I don't know, but my sister is going to sell them all today," Zhu Jiamu said, shaking her head. Zhu Xianze immediately smiled and said, "Your Highness is brilliant."

Zhu Jiamu didn't know why, but after meeting Ning Baixuan yesterday and hearing him say that the troubles could be resolved in a few days, he had a vague sense of unease.

After much deliberation, she decided to sell all her promissory notes. She held a total of 105 promissory notes, averaging out to about 100 cash per note. Each note contained 3,000 catties of cotton, meaning each note cost 300 taels of silver. Wow, she'd already made almost 60,000 taels… This speed of making money was truly astonishing.

Of course, with her intelligence, she knew that once sales began, the price would likely start to fall. But even if she could only earn 50,000 or even 40,000 taels, it would be enough to tempt her. The idea of ​​opening such a shop in Guangzhou had taken root and wouldn't leave her mind. Therefore, Ning Baixuan... she absolutely had to have him! The little princess thought with a bright light in her eyes.

A moment later, a servant came running to report that the price had risen to three hundred coins!

Zhang Qingping smiled and said, "Young Master, let's begin."

Zhu Xianze nodded. But he felt a little regretful. It was a pity that Dou Yuan had left, otherwise he would have really said a few more sarcastic remarks to him. If he hadn't been delayed by the other party for a day, according to Mr. Zhang's plan, he would have probably earned a lot of money yesterday and could have been proud of himself in front of Princess Tang today.

Zhang Qingping stroked his beard and began issuing trading orders, his tone calm and unhurried. His strategist, Cheng Qianqiu, listened attentively, helping him identify and correct any oversights. Previously, their Prince Gui's Mansion had spent a full 30,000 taels of silver to buy nearly forty promissory notes, and yesterday they spent another 10,000 taels of silver, reducing the cost to around 290 cash.

Now that the price has reached three hundred coins, the Prince Gui's Mansion has already made a profit.

Zhu Xianze felt a pang of regret. Yesterday he had said that as soon as he made a profit, he would start selling immediately, as long as he didn't lose money.

But right now, as soon as it opened, while the morning fog was still so thick, the price of the promissory note jumped directly from 290 to 300 coins. If it goes on for a while, the price will be even higher!

It should be noted that the highest price for this issue of the ticket yesterday was 358 coins!

"Four hundred! It'll definitely reach four hundred today!"

Yesterday, a lot of such voices rang out in Baiyufang. Although it did not reach four hundred coins yesterday, with such an unstoppable momentum today, who knows if it will not rise above four hundred?

Fortunately, Mr. Zhang was no pushover either. He sold only two tickets at 300 cash and offered to sell two more at 305 cash. Zhu Xianze was immediately relieved.

However, Princess Tang, who is usually very clever, was a bit short-sighted today. She actually planned to sell fifty of them for three hundred coins and even asked Liu Zhengyang to arrange for someone to make the transaction.

"Doesn't the princess plan to wait for the price to rise further?" Zhu Xianze asked, frowning.

Zhu Jiamu shook his head and laughed, saying that Jiamu was dull-witted and that it would be better to sell it sooner rather than later.

Zhu Xianze remained noncommittal, but did not offer any sarcastic remarks. What if he fell?

The price of the promissory notes fluctuated slightly, hovering between 298 and 305 coins. After about fifteen minutes, Princess Tang's fifty notes were finally sold. Zhu Xianze also sold four.

But I still regret it a bit, feeling that I sold it too early.

With the continued popularity of Baiyufang, the taverns on Datong Street are almost always packed.

Not to mention the many wealthy families and nobles in the capital, even the families of high-ranking officials, merchants from other places, and virtuous people from the countryside all came to Datong Street to witness the grand event.

The tavern they were in faced Baiyufang and was naturally packed with people; the waiter's voice was hoarse from shouting. Although guards from the Tang Prince's Mansion and the Gui Prince's Mansion were standing outside the private room, and no one dared to come in and disturb them, their voices still inevitably drifted in.

Several mature and prudent voices were saying that the disaster in Jiangnan was ten times worse than reported in the official gazette; some were confidently stating that thousands of acres of cotton fields in a certain area had yielded no harvest; and some were slamming their fists on the table, saying that many people would likely freeze to death this winter, and that cotton cloth was a must-buy… All sorts of voices rang out in the restaurant. But they all conveyed the same message: the price of cotton was bound to rise.

Not to mention Zhu Xianze, even Zhu Jiamu was a little apprehensive, his eyes were unfocused, and he wondered if he had really sold too early.

When the morning mist began to dissipate and golden rays shone on the black signboard with gold lettering of Baiyufang, the price had already risen to 320 coins.

Zhang Qingping's steward came over and asked if they should sell two more. At this moment, both the old man and Cheng Qianqiu looked hesitant and turned to look at the young master.

Zhu Xianze thought silently for a moment, then raised his head and said that a price increase to four hundred coins was inevitable, but we should be more cautious and sell when it reached three hundred and fifty. The two advisors' eyes lit up immediately, and they both bowed and praised him, saying that the young master's ability to make decisions on the spot was no less than that of the Prince Gui, truly a young phoenix whose voice is clearer than that of an old phoenix.

Zhu Xianze smiled modestly and casually sipped his tea. Making this decision did bring him some relief; although he had sold eight at a low price, he still had a large portion left. However, what displeased him was that… Princess Zhu Jiamu actually planned to sell another thirty.

"Ha, so lacking in long-term vision and courage, hesitant to take risks when it comes to great things. This is unacceptable, truly unacceptable," Zhu Xianze sighed inwardly.

The decision to sell another thirty tickets was made by Zhu Jiamu through gritted teeth. Now, both inside and outside the restaurant, there was no doubt that the price could reach four hundred coins; the atmosphere was incredibly lively. Even Liu Zhengyang hesitated when she announced the sale of another thirty tickets, but after thinking it over, she insisted, so Liu Zhengyang obediently went to do so as well.

But...to her surprise...

It seems she... can't sell them.