Phoenix Reigns Over The Nine Heavens - Chapter 39

Yun Zirou clenched her hands and looked at her coldly.

“I think it’s acceptable,” Yun Zishu said in a faint voice. “Leng Yue and Leng Shuang are highly skilled in martial arts. If they accidentally injured someone or knocked out their teeth, they would only need to apologize before the Shadow Guard commander. After all, it’s inevitable for martial arts practitioners to be heavy-handed sometimes.”

Princess Baozhu gritted her teeth, suppressing the panic in her heart. “The Dark Shadow Pavilion is loyal to the Emperor, but… but it can’t be used as a weapon for the Ninth Princess to bully others.”

“That seems reasonable too.” Yun Zishu nodded. “Then let the Dark Shadow Pavilion investigate whether the Rong Prince’s Mansion has done anything it shouldn’t have done recently. This would fall within the Dark Shadow Pavilion’s responsibilities.”

Princess Baozhu’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. She stared at Yun Zishu in disbelief for a while. She didn’t know if she was angry or frightened. She suddenly covered her face and ran away crying.

“Your Highness.” The young man returned, ignoring the departing Princess Baozhu, and soon brought out an exquisite tortoiseshell box.

In the box lay a set of dazzling phoenix crown and hairpins. The lifelike phoenix, golden yellow and noble in its majesty, was adorned with a tail of eye-catching rubies, making it almost impossible to look away.

The point is that this set of phoenix coronet and hairpins is obviously meant for the empress. Now the noble concubine is in charge of the harem, which is similar to the empress, but she is just short of a title. But they also know why she has been short of a title.

Presenting this phoenix crown and hairpins at the birthday banquet would undoubtedly cater to her preferences, hitting right at the heart of her desires.

“How…how much is this?”

The owner of the Imperial Treasure Pavilion smiled faintly and said, “Ten thousand taels of gold.”

The Eighth Princess and the other noble ladies present all gasped in unison.

Ten thousand taels of gold?

Who can afford that?

The young shopkeeper looked at Yun Zishu. “My master has said that Her Royal Highness may take this gift and use it first. As for the money, there is no need to rush. You can pay whenever you have it. We won’t urge you.”

The Eighth Princess obviously didn’t expect the shopkeeper to be so kind to Yun Zishu. She slowly narrowed her eyes, wanting to know who the master behind the Imperial Treasure Pavilion was and why he treated Yun Zishu so favorably.

A noble lady next to her spoke up at the right time: “Is the shopkeeper giving it to the Ninth Princess? There are two princesses here, you know.”

“Oh, my master said it was for the legitimate princess.” The shopkeeper’s voice was gentle, exuding the demeanor of a refined gentleman. “So please don’t misunderstand.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yun Zirou’s face instantly darkened. Her gaze fell on Yun Zishu’s face, and she smiled coldly: “Although the shopkeeper is trying to curry favor with the ninth sister, the ninth sister shouldn’t accept such a valuable thing, right? After all, ten thousand taels of gold is not a small amount.”

“I am purchasing this, not receiving it for free from the shopkeeper,” Yun Zishu said calmly. “Originally, I hadn’t planned to buy something so expensive, but since the shopkeeper and his master are so sincere, I’ll accept it.”

As she spoke, she raised her eyes to look at the shopkeeper in front of her: “Please prepare paper and brush; I will write you an IOU.”

The shopkeeper shook his head with a smile: “My master believes in the integrity of the princess, so there is no need for an IOU.”

Yun Zishu raised her eyebrows and couldn’t help but wonder who the master behind him was.

Although she was a princess, she held little weight in the eyes of the powerful nobility and royal family. Moreover, even the imperial concubines in the palace had to pay in full without a penny less when ordering jewelry here.

Merchants are all about profit, and even the royal family and the nobility must abide by the rules of payment upon delivery. Why would they trust her so much for no reason?

Yun Zirou, standing to the side, was livid. She raised her chin and said, “Shopkeeper, do you have any other sets of equal value? This princess wants one as well.”

The shopkeeper’s attitude remained courteous. “Yes, we do, but did the Eighth Princess bring enough silver?”

Yun Zirou frowned. “Can’t I pay later?”

“No one else can do that.” The shopkeeper shook his head with a smile, maintaining his pleasant demeanor but refusing outright. “Except for the legitimate princess, everyone else has to pay half of the deposit first. If the eighth princess desires jewelry of equal value, she should pay 5,000 taels of gold first according to the rules and then pay another 5,000 taels when the jewelry is delivered to you.”

Yun Zirou’s face turned ugly. She gritted her teeth, turned around, and stormed off in a huff.

The other noble ladies quickly turned around and followed.

“Your Highness, the legitimate princess, may keep browsing. This humble subject will send someone to deliver this to the princess’s mansion this evening.” The shopkeeper ignored the eighth princess, who had left, and still spoke politely to Yun Zishu. “Would that be acceptable to Your Highness?”

Yun Zishu looked at him thoughtfully. “One should not receive rewards without merit. I wish to meet your master.”

The shopkeeper was silent for a moment. “This humble subject will go and inquire.”

Yun Zishu hummed in response.

The young shopkeeper ordered his men to take good care of the princess and then turned around and left.

After passing through the back door, he crossed a quiet courtyard and arrived at an elegant pavilion. The shopkeeper climbed up the wooden stairs to the second floor, pushed open the door, and entered a well-furnished room. “Master.”

A man’s deep, cold voice rang out with an air of authority. “What is it?”

“The Ninth Princess wishes to meet the master.”

“…not now.” The man’s low voice was devoid of emotions. After a moment, he added, “It’s not time yet.”

“Yes.”

“Also tell Prince Rong that if his daughter is not properly disciplined, someone else will do it for him.”

“Yes.”

The shopkeeper left and soon returned to the front hall.

“Your Highness,” the shopkeeper said apologetically, “my master is temporarily unable to spare the time. You can take this gift back first. My master believes that Your Highness is a woman of her word.”

Yun Zishu was considering.

She was obviously not generous enough to give such a valuable gift to the Noble Consort; even if she didn’t have to spend money, she wouldn’t be willing.

But this item could indeed be useful to her.

Ten thousand taels of gold…

Yun Zishu thought it over. Liquidating her entire dowry into ready silver likely wouldn’t be enough unless she could find a way to get money from elsewhere.

For example, the Xiao family and the Li family.

Yun Zishu’s lips curled up slightly, and she nodded slightly to the shopkeeper. “Since that’s the case, I’ll accept this favor first. Thank your master for me. I’ll definitely thank him in person if I have the chance to in the future.”

“Yes.”

Yun Zishu nodded. “Then I will take my leave.”

The shopkeeper personally saw her out. “Your Highness, the legitimate Princess, please take care on the journey.”

Yun Zishu left the Imperial Treasure Pavilion with Leng Yue and Leng Shuang. Leng Yue asked, “Does Your Highness wish to visit other places?”

“I don’t want to shop anymore.” Yun Zishu turned her head and instructed, “Leng Shuang, I want to see Si Cang.”

“Yes, I will go and report to the commander.”

On the way back to the princess’s mansion, Yun Zishu was thinking about who the master behind the Imperial Treasure Pavilion would be. He had given her the phoenix crown with such a generous line of credit without blinking, and his attitude towards her was completely different from that towards the Eighth Princess.

Could it be… someone from the Ji family?

Yun Zishu sat in the carriage and asked, “Leng Yue, Leng Shuang, do you know who the master behind the Imperial Treasure Pavilion is?”

Leng Yue shook her head. “The commander didn’t let us investigate it. If Your Highness wishes to know, you can ask the commander directly, or this subordinate can look into it.”

Yun Zishu acknowledged with a soft hum, “We’ll see.”