The concubine was charming and alluring, and the ruthless prince coaxed her day and night.

Chapter 35 Let's open a shop together

When Prince Chen arrived, Xu Jiaojiao and Jiarong had already spent the afternoon eating in the small kitchen.

Seeing the two of them with their bellies bulging from eating, Zhao Yunzheng asked, "?"

Jia Rong blinked and quickly hid the mille-feuille pastry behind her back. Xu Jiaojiao was slightly taken aback, then silently reached out and handed the mille-feuille pastry to Zhao Yunzheng.

Seeing the crumbs on their lips and the sweet, cloying aroma filling the room, Zhao Yunzheng couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

He looked at Xu Jiaojiao: "Is this how you take care of her?"

Xu Jiaojiao picked up a bowl of chilled milk tea and held it to Zhao Yunzheng's lips: "Your Highness, the sun is strong, would you like some?"

Jia Rong nodded in agreement: "It tastes great!"

Seeing Zhao Yunzheng's stern face and refusal to respond, Jia Rong quietly leaned closer and said, "If you won't drink, I will. Sister Jiao Jiao only gave me one bowl, and said she wanted to save this one for you. She refused to give me any."

Zhao Yunzheng raised an eyebrow and looked at Xu Jiaojiao.

The latter smiled sweetly, trying to ingratiate herself: "Your Highness, I made this myself, please try it~"

Even the toughest man couldn't withstand being attacked from both sides by two women.

Zhao Yunzheng gave a helpless smile.

He looked at Jia Rong and tapped her head with his finger: "Did your governess ever set any rules for you, like eating less sweets, especially cold drinks?"

Jia Rong wrinkled his nose, knowing he was in the wrong, and remained silent.

Zhao Yunzheng then looked at Xu Jiaojiao.

Before she could even speak, the latter raised her hands to beg for mercy: "I know I was wrong, I am willing to accept the punishment."

Zhao Yunzheng chuckled, leaned close to Xu Jiaojiao's ear, and whispered, "Punishment is necessary, but it should be done after dark..."

Xu Jiaojiao's face instantly turned red. She gave Zhao Yunzheng a look that seemed both reproachful and scornful, making the man's heart itch with desire, wishing it would get dark immediately.

Unfortunately, after dark, Zhao Yunzheng was unable to hold his beloved to sleep, because Jia Rong wanted to sleep with Xu Jiaojiao and refused to give in no matter what.

Watching Zhao Yunzheng walk out of Yuhua Courtyard with a dark face, Xu Jiaojiao struggled to suppress her laughter.

Lying in bed, Jia Rong thought about the recipe Xu Jiaojiao had mentioned during the day.

If you opened a shop to sell this delicious food, you'd definitely make a fortune.

Thinking of this, she leaned close to Xu Jiaojiao's ear mysteriously and said, "Sister Jiaojiao, your cooking is so delicious, how about you consider opening a shop with me?"

Xu Jiaojiao's eyes flashed.

Actually, she also had the idea of ​​opening a shop.

During this period, thanks to the rewards from Prince Chen and Princess Consort, she had managed to accumulate some funds, which she planned to use to make more money.

Now that Jia Rong has spoken, it's exactly what she wanted.

However, in feudal times, it was very inconvenient for women to do business, especially since she was a high-ranking and powerful woman in the harem of a prince.

However, since Jia Rong said that, she must have her own reasons.

It's not unusual for princes and princesses to have their own ways of making money throughout history.

Xu Jiaojiao feigned ignorance and retorted, "I'm just a woman confined to the inner quarters. Can I go out and open a shop just like a man?"

Jia Rong said, "We don't need to run it ourselves. We just need to be the owners behind the shop. Once the shop is built, we can choose two capable and trustworthy people to manage it. We just need to collect the money on time."

Women with such special identities as them, who want to run a shop, are naturally mostly behind the scenes, so Jia Rong's idea is also Xu Jiao Jiao's idea.

The reasons she hasn't taken any action are twofold: firstly, her foundation is not yet solid, and secondly, she hasn't found the right person.

She asked, "Does Sister Jimu have a shop in a suitable location, or someone suitable to run it?"

Jia Rong owns quite a few shops. She thought for a moment and said, "Several shops are in good locations with many merchants and ordinary people coming and going, making them very suitable for selling these snacks and teas. As for the customers..."

Jia Rong wasn't without people under her command; it's just that while these people obeyed her every command, they weren't truly loyal to her.

Opening the shop was her own idea, and she knew how to manage the profits and losses. She really didn't want anyone else to tell her what to do, not even her father or mother.

So she wanted to cultivate some of her own people.

Xu Jiaojiao is quite good!

Jia Rong paused for a moment, then said, "I don't have any suitable people on hand, but we can post a notice to recruit talent."

Jia Rong's words surprised Xu Jiaojiao.

How could the princess have no one on her side?

But then she realized what was going on.

It seems that Jia Rong wants to keep this shop as his private property and doesn't want too many people to know about it.

"In that case," Xu Jiaojiao nodded slightly, "Alright, whatever you want to do, I'll do as you say, sister."

The two hit it off immediately and began discussing how to open a shop.

They talked about it for half the night.

The next day, when Zhao Yunzheng came to pick up the two to attend their first birthday party, he frowned when he saw that both of them had dark circles under their eyes.

Did those two go out and play with mice last night?

So, in the carriage, Xu Jiaojiao and Jia Rong leaned against Zhao Yunzheng on either side to catch up on their sleep.

Although Zhao Yunzheng felt helpless, he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

As usual, given Jia Rong's personality, once she sees Li Mingyu, she will definitely be restless and talk non-stop to relieve her anxiety and excitement.

But now, she can actually fall asleep leaning against him.

Although I felt it was inappropriate for the two of them to chat so late, it would be good if it could prevent Jia Rong from focusing all her attention on Li Mingyu.

On another carriage.

The princess was all alone.

Looking at her master who was resting with his eyes closed, Granny Wang felt a pang of heartache.

Ever since Xu was elevated to the status of a concubine, Prince Chen has visited the Princess even less. Yet, the Princess is neither competitive nor greedy, which pains her deeply.

Today, the Ningde Marquis's residence is holding its first birthday banquet, and all the guests are high-ranking officials and nobles. It is completely against the rules for the prince to bring his concubine, Madam Xu, along, and the princess did not even try to stop him.

"Sigh..." This was the seventh time that Granny Wang had sighed along the way.

The princess opened her eyes and looked calmly at Wang Mama: "What is troubling you so much that you've been sighing all the way here?"

Granny Wang said indignantly, "What else could it be but because of that Xu woman..."

"Watch your words!" Before he could finish speaking, the princess interrupted, "His Highness has his own way of doing things, and it is not our place to interfere."

Granny Wang immediately stopped talking: "This old servant knows her mistake."

As they were talking, the carriage stopped.

Upon lifting the curtain, they saw that they had arrived at the Ningde Marquis's residence.

When the princess alighted from her carriage, she and Xu Jiaojiao had already alighted from another carriage.

Seeing that Xu Jiaojiao was accompanied by two maids, the princess couldn't help but take another look.

She recognized Lianye, but the other one, wearing a veil, looked unfamiliar.

It seems that the one was not a maid from Yuhua Courtyard.

Seeing that Xu Jiaojiao was very polite to the maid, the princess withdrew her gaze, already having made up her mind.

Upon entering the Ningde Marquis's residence, since the male guests were in the front courtyard and the female guests in the back, Prince Chen entrusted Xu Jiaojiao to the Princess Consort, and the group dispersed to attend banquets and enjoy themselves.

The princess, accompanied by Xu Jiaojiao, had just stepped into the backyard when she heard a mocking voice: "Oh, so these are all the mistresses of the household. How did those lowly concubines manage to sneak in?"