Pay More Silver

Being able to take responsibility is a quality a man can be proud of.

Zhi Nu held Gu Wanning's hand, "Little Aunt, will the Marquis come looking for you again?"

Gu Wanning looked up and saw that the distant mountains were covered in snow, but the pine trees remained green.

Humans are not very persistent.

Especially for a prodigy like Xu Weibei, he had countless choices at his disposal.

Being rejected today is a blow to him, but he will forget about it in three to five days, or at most a month.

As expected, Xu Weibei did not appear for some time afterward.

Gu Wanning didn't deliberately inquire about his whereabouts.

She was initially worried that the Grand Princess would cause trouble—after all, she couldn't possibly think that her own grandson was wrong; the fault must lie with someone like herself, the source of all the trouble. But the Grand Princess remained surprisingly calm.

The concubines did not visit again.

Gu Wanning was a little worried, so she sent Er Ya to inquire. She learned that after returning that day, Xu Weibei had placed the four of them under house arrest and forbade them from leaving the Marquis's Residence.

"... In particular, the Marquis said that anyone who dares to come to see you should be killed on the spot."

Gu Wanning hummed in agreement.

That's so Xu Weibei, so proud.

"Fourth Concubine wanted to come see you again, but First Concubine was keeping a close eye on her. First Concubine said that the Marquis is really angry this time, so she's not allowed to cause any trouble, lest she get herself into trouble."

"She's right." Gu Wanning still felt uneasy, but this was the best way to handle it, so there was nothing to regret.

Focusing on your career can distract you and also make you a lot of money.

"Is Baoji open?" Gu Wanning asked.

"It's open! It's open!" Er Ya nodded repeatedly. "I checked specifically. Many shops are still closed, probably waiting until after the Lantern Festival, but Baoji's is open. That owner is really stingy."

"I've been waiting for them to open, and I felt like these days were getting too tough. Let's go check it out now."

She planned to sell the sugar recipe, use the money to buy land, hire people, and develop her farming plan.

Gu Wanning took the samples of the boiled white sugar to Baoji and spoke with the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was clearly interested, but dared not agree immediately, saying, "Miss, your asking price of five thousand taels is really not cheap... How much white sugar can one sell in a year? If we buy the recipe, we probably won't be able to earn back the five thousand taels of silver before it is leaked."

"Your Baoji business is so big, even overseas, how could you possibly not earn back a mere five thousand taels of silver?"

"We have our own difficulties too. And think about it, besides Baoji, who else would pay such a high price for your recipe?"

Others don't have Baoji's strength and resources; they'd be lucky to sell this recipe for a thousand taels.

He was indeed telling the truth.

Gu Wanning calmly said, "Since that's the case, let's compromise. Three thousand taels of silver, a fixed price! If it's lower than that, I'll keep the recipe. I might not be able to find a shop as big as Baoji now, but I'll ask around later. Among the Shanxi and Anhui merchants, there must be one that can take on this business, what do you say?"

"Alright. Please wait a little longer, young lady. This is a very important matter. Let me go and inform the master today to see if he agrees."

"Can."

Three thousand taels of silver could buy a decent mansion in the Capital; it was indeed no small sum.

Gu Wanning hadn't expected him to reply immediately.

"I'll come to inform you as soon as I have any news." The shopkeeper respectfully saw the person off.

"Miss, three thousand taels of silver!" Er Ya exclaimed. "So much silver, can you possibly spend it all?"

Gu Wanning said quietly, "Baoji earns money, Baoji it; don't even think about taking a single penny home."

If I want to buy new and exotic seeds again, won't I have to go back to Baoji?

Baoji is far more ruthless than her.

Just thinking about the alpaca that Xu Weibei bought for Fifty Thousand Taels of silver will Baoji Gu Wanning for the rest of her life.

"Madam, who Baoji's?" Er Ya asked. "When you and the Marquis were on good terms before, didn't you ask Marquis?"

I asked, but he didn't tell me.

"Why didn't I tell you? The Marquis was still wary of you!" Er Ya spat out. "I even thought it was because of you when I heard he jumped into the lake!"

Gu Wanning:???

Xu Weibei in the lake?

No, it's pitch-pot, isn't it?

She couldn't imagine Xu Weibei committing suicide...

He couldn't very well say that he was troubled by love and that it all started because of her.

"Why did the Marquis drown himself in the lake? When did this happen? I've never heard you mention it before?"

"That day, when you asked me to visit your four concubines, the First Concubine said she didn't want to tell you, afraid it would upset you even more."

"No, why would the Marquis want to jump into the lake?"

"From what you're saying, in the dead of winter, jumping into a lake to cool off is definitely a sign of despair, a desire to end your life."

Gu Wanning: "Impossible."

It's a rumor, definitely a rumor.

She even wondered if Xu Weibei had been assassinated and thrown into the lake by the assassin!

However, Xu Weibei was also unlucky; in such cold weather, the lake should have frozen over.

Was he ambushed and thrown into an ice hole?

"No, the lake is frozen over, how could anyone jump in?" Gu Wanning voiced her thoughts. "Could it be that someone plotted against you? And you, why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

"You're not dating him anymore, so why do I keep bringing him up?" Er Ya muttered. "If you want to know what happened, why don't you ask Master? He's so capable, he'll definitely know."

Chapter 173 Give More Money

"My Marquis, Baoji Bao has arrived," Gao Lan said cautiously, placing the medicine on the table.

Xu Weibei's face was somewhat pale. He coughed a few times and looked at the steaming, dark medicine with great disgust.

What is he doing here?

"Yes, yes..."

"When did you become a stutterer?" Xu Weibei asked impatiently.