The Emperor Bought a Share

Zhao Ruxi said, "If I were to come here so abruptly, the two old managers would probably chase me out with a big broom. So, to avoid troubling two people, I'll have to trouble Shopkeeper Wang to write two letters and deliver them to them, asking him to put in a good word for me. Please, please."

Originally, Zhao Ruxi was painting at Gathered Treasures Studio, and Shopkeeper Wang spent more time with her than with his own mistress Xiao Ruotong.

Zhao Ruxi is a woman with high emotional intelligence and a silver tongue. She often acts like a cute little girl in front of Shopkeeper Wang, but she is also very shrewd in dealing with people, which makes her a favorite of Shopkeeper Wang.

Given their existing friendship, and with the Princess of Zhennan having specifically sent someone to give instructions, and Shopkeeper Wang having high hopes for Zhao Ruxi's future, he was naturally very willing to help her. Since he had already mentioned Hu and Song, he wouldn't mind sending two more letters. He immediately ordered someone to grind ink, picked up a pen, wrote a letter, and had his shop assistant deliver it.

"Once they send their letter tomorrow and don't indicate any refusal, you can prepare gifts and go to their door to invite them," said Shopkeeper Wang.

"Thank you, thank you." Zhao Ruxi took a food box from Qingfeng's hand. "Knowing you love the Jade Delicacies Studio Duck Rolls and Almond Shortbread from Zhuanyuzhai in the capital, I specially had them bought. Please try them."

"Oh, you still remember me." Shopkeeper Wang smiled, his eyes crinkling.

He saw it clearly: when Zhao Ruxi arrived, her maid was carrying two large food boxes and one small food box. The snacks in the large food boxes were definitely for the shop's employees. The snacks in the small food box were something Zhao Ruxi had specially sent to Jade Delicacies Studio to buy for him.

Although he was a servant, he had been a manager for so many years, so he certainly wasn't short of food. What was rare was Zhao Ruxi's kindness.

Since they needed to invite the old shopkeeper, Zhao Ruxi didn't immediately take Shi Chao and the other man away. She just met with them briefly, told them that the shop would be opening soon and to prepare, before leaving Gathered Treasures Studio.

The next morning, after class, she heard Zhaoming report, "Shopkeeper Wang of Gathered Treasures Studio sent a message through a clerk, saying that neither of the two old managers refused outright, but only expressed a desire to see you. They want you to visit the two managers when you have time."

"Go to Gathered Treasures Studio and tell them I understand. Go there after school this afternoon. Have the kitchen make five bowls of rice noodles and take them to Shopkeeper Wang."

The shop assistants were busy, and while the pastries were fine, it wasn't appropriate to give them soupy and fragrant foods like rice noodles. Manager Shopkeeper Wang and the others, however, seemed unaffected.

After school in the afternoon, Zhao Ruxi took Zhou Chun to visit the two old shopkeepers.

The reason Zhou Chun was brought along was because Zhou Chun would be the one dealing with the two old shopkeepers more often than she would be. She also understood why the two old shopkeepers didn't agree directly but wanted to meet her.

The two men were old and not short of money. If she were an arrogant young lady from a wealthy family who was unreasonable or looked down on others, the two managers would naturally not bother to put up with her for a few coins. Zhou Chun was no exception.

With Shopkeeper Wang's letter as a prelude, and given that both Zhao Ruxi and Zhou Chun are highly intelligent, they naturally had a pleasant conversation with the two old managers after their meeting.

Zhao Ruxi's business was very profitable, so she was naturally generous to her subordinates, and she also understood the principle of high salaries to prevent corruption.

Therefore, even though the two old managers were only there to oversee things, she still offered them an annual salary of 180 taels of silver, which was considered a middle-to-upper-class income among managers.

The two old managers certainly didn't lack the money, but the offer from Zhao Ruxi showed their respect for them. They readily accepted.

After settling the managers of the two shops, good news came from Wu Zong: "Junior Sister, Lord Zhang has agreed to put the safe in the Court of Judicial Review."

Zhao Ruxi exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Senior brother, you're amazing!"

Although she made the suggestion, she felt it would be difficult to achieve the desired result.

Zhang Changshen was not an inflexible person; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the emperor to seize the property of a convicted official from the Ministry of Revenue in order to increase the Court of Judicial Review's funding for handling cases.

However, he is very principled and will absolutely not get involved in anything he doesn't want to, no matter how much profit is involved.

The Court of Judicial Review didn't gain much from this matter, but it caused a lot of trouble. If the princes coveted this business and wanted to seize it, Zhang Changshen certainly wouldn't be able to stop them. But not stopping them would damage his image of integrity and uprightness. In short, for him personally, this matter did more harm than good.

unless...

She opened her large, clear eyes and asked, "Could it be that Lord Zhang has dragged the Emperor into this mess as well?"

Wu Zong wasn't surprised that she had guessed the inside story. Instead, he glared at her and said, "You asked me to go and tell Lord Zhang, isn't that exactly what you were planning?"

Zhao Ruxi chuckled.

Wu Zong once again marveled in his heart at his junior sister's intelligence and insight.

He was curious to know if his junior sister had truly understood the reason behind it, so he asked, feigning curiosity, "Since you want the Emperor to invest and act as your backer, why didn't you have Master go directly to the Emperor instead of going through Lord Zhang's route?"

Zhao Ruxi wasn't annoyed that her senior brother didn't believe in her and even gave her a test.

She explained, "First, I'm begging Lord Zhang to put the safe in the Court of Judicial Review, so I can't just bypass him and not give him any benefits. Since that's the case, I might as well do Lord Zhang a favor."

"Secondly, although Master went to see the Emperor with money, it was clearly a ploy to find a powerful patron. This means Master owes the Emperor a favor. If the Emperor acts arrogantly, Master will definitely be unhappy. As a filial disciple, I naturally can't let Master feel so aggrieved."

Wu Zong chuckled.

She has to fawn over her master at all times, even when he's not around. No wonder her master dotes on her so much.

He asked, "Would it be different if it were Lord Zhang?"

Zhao Ruxi rolled her eyes at him. "That's definitely different. If Lord Zhang were to speak, he would first intimidate the Emperor with the case, then tell him about the existence of such a cabinet, and then say that the Court of Judicial Review is preparing to cooperate with me to ensure the peace of the Great Jin. If the Emperor is short of money, he would naturally want to get involved. So it becomes Lord Zhang giving the Emperor face."

Wu Zong: "..."

Seeing his expression, Zhao Ruxi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no, no, you're absolutely right," Wu Zong said. "It's precisely because you're so right that it feels a bit strange."

He looked at Zhao Ruxi and sighed, "I just want to know how your brain works, how you're so much smarter than others."

Zhao Ruxi raised her head smugly and said arrogantly, "That's right. I'm that kind of genius."

Generally speaking, there are differences between men and women, and Wu Zong has always been very careful about maintaining proper boundaries.

But now he finally couldn't resist, reaching out to slap Zhao Ruxi on the head, laughing and scolding, "You naughty child."