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

The price did indeed rise to 320 coins, but that transaction was completed half an hour ago. In that half an hour, Baiyufang was in an uproar.

The man holding the promissory note, red-faced and shouting, "Three hundred and twenty coins! I'll sell!" Wasn't that the price for the last transaction? Yesterday it went up to three hundred and fifty-eight coins! You old codger, you're not buying now, planning to wait until four hundred coins? If you don't buy, plenty of others will!

But those who wanted to buy were really hesitant to take out their silver notes. Their eyes red, they slammed their fists on the table, saying, "That's how it dropped yesterday! What if I buy it today and it drops to 230 or 240?!" "Hmph! You heartless thief, if you won't sell, plenty of others will!"

As a result, Baiyufang experienced a period of strange silence regarding transactions.

When Zhu Jiamu heard from his servant that none of the thirty promissory notes had been sold at this price, he looked somewhat surprised. After thinking for a moment, he decided to lower the price by two coins.

But to her even greater surprise, half an hour later, Liu Zhengyang came again with his servant to report that the price had been reduced to 308 coins. They wanted to sell it for 318 coins, but after asking around, they couldn't find a buyer. So they came to ask the princess again if they needed to lower the price further.

Zhu Jiamu thought for a moment and said to wait a moment.

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the price of the promissory notes did not rebound but continued to fall, reaching 295 coins. Zhu Jiamu's eyes dimmed, and he regretted not selling them sooner! His eyes sharpened, and he made a decision: "Regardless of the price, if someone is willing to buy, sell them until they are all sold out!" The servant immediately obeyed and left.

"purchase!"

On the other side, Zhu Xianze raised his chin, chuckled, and slapped the table, saying, "Such a good opportunity! The price is almost below 290 coins, why not buy?"

They had previously spent 40,000 taels of silver to buy promissory notes, with a cost price of 290 cash. They had just sold eight of them at a bargain price and were already regretting it. Now that they had the opportunity to buy them back, why wouldn't they buy them?

Moreover, with this back and forth, I still have all the medium-term notes in my hand, but I have gained several hundred taels of silver out of thin air. Why not do such a good deal?

Zhu Xianze excitedly slapped the table.

As they talked, he couldn't help but glance smugly at Zhu Jiamu beside him. He truly couldn't understand why, even though he had already explained such a simple way to make money to her—as long as she obediently followed his instructions, Baiyufang could become a treasure trove that constantly produced silver—this princess, praised throughout the region as intelligent, wise, and resourceful, couldn't even learn how to do it.

But to his surprise, half an hour later, the price dropped from 298 coins to 260 coins. The magnitude and speed of the drop shocked everyone, and the lively atmosphere in the restaurant immediately cooled down.

As Zhu Jiamu sipped her tea, she felt a sense of relief when Liu Zhengyang reported that all thirty of their tickets had been sold: "It's good that they're sold." She still had twenty-five tickets left.

Zhu Xianze frowned. He had bought back all eight tickets he'd previously sold for over 300 coins, all for under 290 coins. Then, when the price dropped to 270 coins, Mr. Zhang smiled and stroked his beard, spending another 5,000 taels of silver to buy about ten more. Although he'd spent a total of 45,000 taels of silver, at least the cost had decreased. Now the price was around 285 coins; well, it could easily go up again with a slight price increase.

"Hehe, Princess, you just sold so many for over three hundred coins, don't you plan to buy them back now?"

He smiled at Zhu Jiamu.

Zhu Jiamu shook her head and said with a charming smile, "To be honest, brother, what I'm really looking forward to right now is selling all the remaining twenty-five. If you're interested..."

Zhu Xianze quickly waved his hand, smiling as he refused, "Let's not do business together, to avoid suspicion."

He thought to himself: If I buy yours, and the price of this ticket goes up later, will you come back to me for the original price? Can I refuse? Zhu Xianze wasn't going to fall for that.

About half an hour later, the price did not rise as he expected. After fluctuating up and down, it fell to yesterday's lowest price.

Two hundred and thirty coins...

Zhu Xianze's expression turned sour. Just now, Zhang Qingping had spent another five thousand taels of silver to buy about ten promissory notes, reducing the cost price to around two hundred and eighty cash. While this was a good thing, the cost price seemed to be decreasing at an increasingly slower pace. By now, they had spent a total of fifty thousand taels, a figure that even with the Gui Prince's mansion's wealth, it still alarmed him.

Zhang Qingping's face was also somewhat pale, his brows furrowed as he stared silently at the prices the servant had copied down from previous periods. Cheng Qianqiu frowned and said, "This doesn't make sense," he slowly said, fanning himself with a white fan, "It doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense... It should rise as it did yesterday soon."

"Brother," Zhu Jiamu said, standing up with a somewhat helpless expression, "I just sold the last twenty-five tickets I had left." She added regretfully, "Then I won't keep you company any longer."

Zhu Xianze stood up, forcing a smile, and said, "Take care, little sister."

"Losing money faster than gambling..." "Damn it!" "I shouldn't have bought it, I told you I shouldn't have bought it!" "Wouldn't it be better to spend it on real estate?" "Ugh, ugh, which bastards are selling this..." "Heh, at least the cotton didn't suffer a disaster this year." "Even if it had suffered a disaster, it shouldn't be this price..."

As Zhu Jiamu walked out of the private room, he listened to these voices with a silent expression, his heart filled with a mixture of joy and regret.

What delighted her was that she had earned a full 50,000 taels of silver in just a few days! The speed and convenience of making money was something she had never experienced before; it was almost like divine intervention, and she didn't even know whose money she was actually earning. Her regret, of course, stemmed from her hesitation. She should have sold them all at 300 coins just now; unfortunately, half of them were sold below 300 coins, otherwise she could have earned a full 60,000 taels of silver!

Thinking about this, Zhu Jiamu frowned and instead of returning to the mansion, he ordered Liu Zhengyang to find a private room to sit down and see how things went.

Just a quarter of an hour after Zhu Jiamu and his two companions left, Zhu Xianze and his two companions let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"It's back up, it's back up... Mr. Zhang deserves all the credit." Zhu Xianzhe said, patting the old man's shoulder as a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

By the time the clock struck midnight, the price had finally risen back to 280 wen! And the cost of the Gui Prince's Mansion had dropped to 276 wen after Zhang Qingping gritted his teeth and bought another 5,000 taels of silver at 200 wen... In other words, the Gui Prince's Mansion... started making money again.

Zhu Xianze felt a great weight lifted from his heart. He gently wiped the sweat from his brow, glanced at the empty seat beside him, and felt a pang of regret: It's a pity Princess Tang is gone. Otherwise, she would know how unwise it was to sell those last twenty-five promissory notes for two hundred and thirty coins.

In a private room at another restaurant, Zhu Jiamu looked radiant and was in high spirits.

She had just seen that the price had fallen to two hundred coins. After thinking about it, she spent twenty thousand taels of silver to buy another batch of promissory notes. How much lower could the price go?

Unexpectedly, the price quickly rebounded to 280 coins, just as she had predicted! Liu Zhengyang was also quite impressed, bowing and clasping his hands in thanks, saying that the princess was truly wise and courageous, with unparalleled ingenuity, and that he admired her greatly. Zhu Jiamu smiled and said that it was just a small test, and they sold them all at 300 coins.

But it's a pity.

In an inconspicuous side room in the backyard of Baiyufang, after a twelve-year-old boy cried out, "Finally, they're all moving... Smash, smash, smash, smash... Smash it all..." the price of the promissory note plummeted...

Seeing the price plummet to 260 wen, Zhu Jiamu felt uneasy and ordered her men to start selling. However, after only half of the goods were sold, the price dropped to 220 wen. She gritted her teeth and decided to buy instead of selling, purchasing another 10,000 taels of silver. But to her surprise, the price continued to fall, dropping to 190 wen in just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, leaving the entire city stunned!

Liu Zhengyang's face turned pale, and his eyes glazed over as he asked, "Princess, shall we sell?" Zhu Jiamu's eyes widened, and then she waved her hand, buying another 20,000 taels of silver. During this period of dramatic price fluctuations, she held onto the idea that she would sell everything once the total profit returned to 50,000 taels, and bought in several more times.

However, prices often experience a slight increase, only to plummet again before they can even catch their breath.

By late afternoon, the price had reached a number that she found absurd—

One hundred and fifty coins!

Zhu Jiamu, who hadn't eaten lunch, stared at the sheets of paper filled with prices in her hand, her eyes reddening, her mind a jumble of confusion, feeling utterly absurd. Liu Zhengyang and the others exchanged bewildered glances, cautiously staying by the princess's side.

After much deliberation, seeing that the price seemed to have stabilized at 150 wen, Zhu Jiamu made a final purchase of 30,000 taels! She had carefully calculated that she was still making a profit. With 30,000 taels invested, as long as the price rebounded to 200 wen, she would recoup her 50,000 taels profit. Then she would sell it all! Sell it all!

At the end of the day, the sun was setting in the west.

As the price of promissory notes plummeted to 103 coins, and astonishing news spread throughout the city.

Zhu Jiamu ordered his men to sell all the promissory notes in her possession, with the final transaction price at ninety-nine coins.

She kicked everyone out of the private room.

The maids and guards watched Liu Zhengyang nervously in the corridor.

Liu Zhengyang looked miserable.

But as the manager, he had no choice but to peek through the crack in the door of the private room and knock softly, saying, "Princess, Princess... it can't be this bad... actually, you've only lost three thousand taels..."

"Bang!" A porcelain cup flew towards the door of the private room!

Liu Zhengyang's pupils contracted, and he jumped back in alarm! He dared not try to persuade him any further.