Su Yunmo, her small hands tangling her messy hair, shot her a sideways glance. "Did you cause trouble outside?"
Zi Yuan's eyelids twitched, and she sighed towards the sky.
It seemed that acting cute was more suited for Lu Luo.
"It's a good thing. Are you free this morning?"
The little dumpling clutched the quilt with both hands, wrapping herself into a ball. "Nothing much."
Zi Yuan pulled her out from under the covers and handed her new clothes to change into. "Then please accompany me back to Xue Hen. There are some things I need to show you."
The little dumpling said "Oh" and gave her another suspicious look.
Could she have really caused trouble?
Zi Yuan helped her dress and wash her face. Without even eating, she happily held the little dumpling and left the manor.
A carriage waited outside the manor gate.
The mistress and servant boarded the carriage and set off onto the street. After half an hour, the carriage stopped.
"Mistress, please alight," Zi Yuan called from outside.
The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a three-story building. A plaque of sandalwood at the entrance bore gilded characters: Wen Xiang Ge.
It was a tea house, with red firecrackers at the entrance. It had only recently opened, and customers were flowing in.
Su Yunmo was stunned. "Aren't we going to Xue Hen?"
"This is it. You'll know once you alight," Zi Yuan said, carrying her down and striding into the tea house.
The tea house was very lively. The waiters looked somewhat fierce, but they greeted every customer with a smile.
Su Yunmo felt that these people looked familiar, but she couldn't quite recall why.
Zi Yuan carried her to a private room on the third floor.
Pushing the door open, she saw two familiar faces.
"Mistress, you've finally arrived. Your subordinates have been waiting for you for a long time."
A middle-aged man and a man in his early twenties simultaneously knelt to greet her.
"Uncle Dong? Xiao Zuo? What are you doing here?" Su Yunmo asked in surprise.
Zi Yuan smiled. "Mistress, this is our Xue Hen."
Uncle Dong stood up. "Yes, Mistress. Left Protector Zi Yuan said that it's not feasible for the brothers to always stay in the shadows. So, Zi Yuan arranged for us to buy this place in the capital to do business."
"Firstly, it's close to you, so we can take care of you. Secondly, the brothers won't have to worry about providing for their families. Thirdly, with people coming and going, it's convenient for us to gather intelligence."
Su Yunmo raised an eyebrow. "Have the previous operations ceased?"
Xiao Zuo scratched the back of his head and chuckled honestly. "Mistress, the martial world is unstable now. It's a bit difficult for our organization to survive solely by undertaking tasks for others, so we've changed our direction."
"But Mistress, rest assured, we've kept some people in the organization and haven't moved everyone to the capital. Zi Yuan said this is for contingencies."
Su Yunmo scanned the surroundings. Every item in the private room exuded thoughtfulness, suggesting it had been prepared for a long time.
She looked at Zi Yuan. "You've worked hard for so long."
The incident with Hong Luan had affected her somewhat. Since her return, she had completely neglected all matters of the organization, and it was thanks to Zi Yuan's constant efforts that things were managed.
Zi Yuan blushed, a rare occurrence. "Today is a festival, and I wanted to give Mistress a surprise. As long as Mistress doesn't blame me for taking the initiative..."
The rest didn't matter. She just didn't want the incident of the Marquis's manor fire to happen again. No matter what, she had to help her Mistress secure more fallback options.
"Then please show me this business. If I find it satisfactory, perhaps I'll even add some funds to it," Su Yunmo said, a smile in her eyes.
Yesterday, Lu Luo had mentioned that she had so much money and nowhere to spend it. Now, it seemed there was a use for it.
"Got it!" Xiao Zuo snapped his fingers and energetically led the two around Wen Xiang Ge, showing them every room.
Finally, he led her back to the initial private room. "Mistress, this room is your designated main room. If you come here in the future, you can come directly to this room."
Su Yunmo looked around. "Is there anything special about this room?"
Xiao Zuo said mysteriously, "Of course, you..."
"Manager Zuo, Princess Lian and the Princess have arrived and want a premium private room for tea," a waiter scurried up and reported.
Su Yunmo narrowed her eyes.
How did these two end up together?
"Mistress, please wait here for a moment. I'll show you the specialties of our tea house," Xiao Zuo patted his clothes, puffed out his chest like a proud goose, and went downstairs.
Su Yunmo nodded somewhat confusedly.
Uncle Dong dismissed a servant to bring tea and opened the window on the east wall. "Mistress, please come here."
Zi Yuan carried the little dumpling and took a seat.
From this window, one could see the entire first floor.
Ye Yunshuang stood at the entrance, her face displeased as she berated a waiter. "It's just a newly opened, run-down tea house, and you dare to refuse this princess?"
"This princess is determined to have tea here today. Either you let us in, or this princess will bring people to smash this place!"
Xiao Zuo went downstairs to greet them. Upon seeing the two, he immediately transformed from a proud goose into a quail, bowing and scraping. "Please, honored guests, do not be angry. We open for business naturally prioritizing harmony."
"It's not that we don't welcome guests, but there are too many customers today and private rooms are scarce. If you two insist on coming in, we dare not offend you, but it will require additional payment."
He sighed. "You see, spending twenty taels to drink tea here is not cost-effective. Perhaps you could find a small tea house outside?"
Lin Yuning's expression immediately turned unpleasant.
Ye Yunshuang also reprimanded him fiercely. "What do you mean by that? Do you think this princess cannot afford the money?"
Saying so, she took out a silver ingot from her embrace and threw it over. "Immediately prepare a private room for this princess. If you are even a moment late, beware of losing your head!"
"Yes, yes, yes. How about this, I'll risk my mistress's scolding and let you two go to the place where our mistress usually stays."
Xiao Zuo accepted the silver and respectfully led the two to the third floor.
Su Yunmo looked at Uncle Dong with amusement. "Are there really no other private rooms?"
When they had taken her around earlier, she had seen quite a few empty rooms on the third floor.
Uncle Dong chuckled. "We've just opened, you see. When we see such wealthy patrons, we naturally try to fleece them as much as possible."
Moreover, he had heard from Zi Yuan that these two who had come from downstairs had always been at odds with their Mistress, so it was only natural to fleece them even more. They weren't short of money anyway.
Su Yunmo shook her head with a laugh.
The tea house's specialties were indeed quite special.
"Mistress, please look here." Uncle Dong took down a calligraphy and painting from the wall.
Behind the calligraphy and painting was an empty space, allowing a view into the adjacent room where Lin Yuning and Ye Yunshuang were.
Su Yunmo was surprised.
Uncle Dong explained, "Mistress, please rest assured, these were specially designed by skilled craftsmen. We can see and hear them, but they cannot see or hear us."
Su Yunmo raised an eyebrow. "It seems I have no choice but to contribute funds."
A servant brought tea.
Uncle Dong poured a cup of tea for her, his face beaming with joy. "Then your subordinate thanks you, Mistress, in advance."
Su Yunmo waved her hand. "You go ahead and attend to your business. We'll be fine here on our own."
Uncle Dong bowed and retreated, his face full of happiness.
As soon as the Mistress arrived, more money had come in. Heh! Truly worth it!