Tianliangyuan

Chapter 229: Has he taken a liking to her lilac?

Wang Ruolan only felt her thoughts.

At my age, wouldn't it be better to live a peaceful life?

"I think the scenery at the Hundred Fruit Garden is quite nice, and the weather is fine and sunny right now. Why don't we send the old lady to stay there for a while?"

Li helped come up with ideas.

Wang Ruolan thought it was feasible, but she also had some concerns.

"What if Xu Lin goes along too?"

"Then let's find a way to prevent her from going!"

Wang Ruolan raised an eyebrow; it seemed her sister-in-law had a solution.

In fact, the method Li used was quite old-fashioned. It was nothing more than giving the old lady of the Sun family some benefits and then having her pretend to be sick, so that Xu Lin could be kept at home.

If the old lady of the Marquis's mansion were still living there, Xu Lin could still come over to talk whenever she had time.

However, if the old lady leaves the city, Xu Lin won't have the time.

Wang Ruolan nodded in approval, "Sister-in-law, you're quick-witted! We'll do as you say."

The two sisters-in-law acted quickly, and persuading the old lady to go to the Hundred Fruit Garden was an extremely simple matter.

The old lady had wanted to go for a long time, but she hadn't been able to because the house was being expanded and renovated.

Moreover, the old lady is very concerned about her image. She always felt that if she took the initiative to suggest it, she would be three points inferior, and it would be more appropriate for the younger generation to invite her to stay for a while.

Now that Wang Ruolan had spoken, the old lady naturally agreed.

Wang Ruolan couldn't bear to leave the Marquis's residence, so she had Li Shi and the two concubine daughters from the second branch of the family accompany her to stay at the Hundred Fruit Garden for a while.

Xu Zhaozhao, the proper mistress, didn't go because Princess Leyang had invited her to discuss matters, and since Zhuzi had returned, there were also issues regarding how to develop the tea business, etc. As the person in charge, she couldn't shirk her responsibilities.

Jasmine flowers are planted in the orchard, and now that Zhu Zi has brought back a lot of tea leaves, Xu Zhaozhao has arranged for people to make jasmine tea.

When the woman drinks this sweet and delicious flower tea, how could she possibly be used to the tea with peppercorns, mutton fat, and other ingredients added to it?

In addition, Xu Zhaozhao arranged for someone to make an osmanthus black tea last year, but it has only been consumed on a small scale and is not available on the market.

This was actually Xu Zhaozhao's intention.

She could easily make more osmanthus black tea if she wanted to, but she deliberately keeps these wealthy people hanging on because things are valued for their scarcity!

Actually, osmanthus black tea has been available on the market for a long time, but there really isn't any that reaches the quality of the tea that Xu Zhaozhao has.

Moreover, the fragrance of the flowers is not strong enough. You can't even smell the osmanthus fragrance, let alone drink it. It's just a gimmick to make money.

This kind of tea isn't popular in the market. Firstly, it's because men generally don't drink it, and secondly, women either feel cheated after buying it once and are unwilling to pay more for it, or they think it's too fancy and prefer the traditional way of drinking it.

In short, it just didn't sell for a particularly high price.

Xu Zhaozhao now possesses top-quality osmanthus black tea, a fact well-known among the elite ladies.

Because it was flower tea, the young men all looked down on it, always feeling that a man who drank this kind of tea was losing his masculinity.

Most of the women who drank this tea only tasted it at the homes of Xu Zhaozhao and Princess Leyang.

Ultimately, it was never truly publicized.

Xu Zhaozhao is a shrewd person. Good things should naturally be shared, but not for free.

Therefore, the ultimate goal is still to make money.

But how can she make this money in a way that doesn't seem outrageous? At least people need to know that making this tea is not easy. Otherwise, people will just think she's making a fortune, and they'll inevitably have to report her to the court.

Zhu Zi brought back quite a lot of tea this time. He didn't know much about tea, but among the Nanzhao people he befriended were some who did. With the promise of benefits, Zhu Zi followed them around to see and taste tea, and learned a lot in the process.

"This humble servant greets Master."

Xu Zhaozhao woke the person up: "You've worked hard these past few days."

"Serving the master is no hardship for a lowly servant."

After Zhu Zi finished speaking, he presented the two account books.

One booklet is a catalog of medicinal herbs, and the other is a catalog of tea.

"As you instructed, I have kept Princess Leyang's people out of the way regarding this tea matter. I also know that Prince Qi's residence has bought quite a lot of tea. However, they sold it as they went, and there isn't much left now. I guess it's just for the masters to drink."

"Yes, you did a great job. You deserve the most credit for this!"

"Thank you, Master."

"Now that you're back, take a good rest. Your mother is thinking of arranging a marriage for you. Get yourself ready and settle the marriage as soon as possible so your mother won't worry about it anymore."

Zhu Zi blushed and said, "Master, I don't want to go on blind dates."

Xu Zhaozhao glared at him: "What kind of talk is that?"

"I'm still so young. The Fourth Young Master isn't even married yet. I'm not in a hurry. I'll wait another two years."

Xu Zhaozhao then looked at him properly and noticed that he was glancing to her left, intentionally or unintentionally. She immediately understood what was going on.

"Alright, it's your own business, you decide for yourself. But don't make your mother angry."

"Yes, thank you, Master."

"Leave the ledgers here, I'll look at them slowly. You can go and rest now. Take a couple of days to rest at home, and I'll have someone come find you later."

"Yes, please excuse me."

An hour later, Xu Zhaozhao placed the account book on the table, her face beaming with joy.

This pillar is indeed a capable person.

Not only did they bring account books, but they also brought samples of various teas, clearly indicating what kind of tea it was and where it came from.

After Xu Zhaozhao read through them one by one, she felt that they were pretty much the same as she remembered, which meant that he had really put his heart into doing things.

"Dingxiang, take some people to Zhuzi's house later and give him a reward."

Yes. What would you like to reward me with, Miss?

"A reward of ten strings of cash, five bolts of fine cotton cloth, two sachets, a pair of silver bracelets, half a bushel of small pearls, and two gold rings."

"Yes, Miss is very generous."

Xu Zhaozhao teased her, "He does things so thoughtfully for me, so naturally I have to reward him well. You guys are always by my side, haven't I given you enough things to reward you?"

Dingxiang smiled and said that her master was kind, then withdrew to prepare.

Xu Zhaozhao then mysteriously called Shaoyao over.

"Is there something going on between Zhu Zi and your Sister Ding Xiang?"

Peony covered her mouth and laughed: "Miss, that's a question you asked. I really don't know. But every time Zhu Zi is in the manor, he always thinks of bringing Dingxiang some good food and drinks and serves her in front of you, but he has never given any to me!"

Xu Zhaozhao suddenly realized that he had really taken a liking to the head maidservant beside her.

That can't be done!

Not at least not now.

Dingxiang is one of my most capable people, how could I let her get married so easily?

We should wait at least two years before discussing it.

"So what does Sister Dingxiang mean? Did you accept their gifts? And did you prepare a return gift?"

Peony chuckled softly, "I don't know if I returned the gift, but the shoes that Zhu Zi is wearing were made by Sister Dingxiang last year."