Time Travel: The Noble Family-Chapter 523 - 198 Business (Part 2)_2

Zhuang Ruolan showed annoyance and consoled Yueyao. "Yueyao, the Lady of Marquis Jingning has been bedridden for years and is somewhat muddled, so don’t pay attention to what she says." Zhuang Ruolan, being close with Madam Ping, knew the Lady of Marquis Jingning well. According to Zhuang Ruolan, the Lady of Marquis Jingning was simply lucky, blessed with a good sister and a good son; otherwise, she would have long been devoured leaving not even a trace.

Yueyao shook her head and smiled, "I haven’t taken it to heart. The Lady of Marquis Jingning thinks I have a tough fate; I simply won’t go."

Zhuang Ruolan had no solution to this. She did not believe that Yueyao had a tough fate. In the Ma Family, everyone had been prosperous, and according to her husband, Yueyao was their Lucky Star. It was only the Ma Family who did not believe the rumor; others did.

Upon arriving at Marquis Jingning’s Residence, Zhuang Ruolan did not show any joy. Inside the main room, after Madam Ping dismissed the maids and old nannies, Zhuang Ruolan asked, "Yajing, the Lady of Marquis Jingning said Yueyao harms her; what’s all this about? If it wasn’t for my mention of bringing Yueyao over yesterday, I wouldn’t have known about this." Yueyao might not care, but she could not help seeking justice for her.

Madam Ping, not expecting Zhuang Ruolan to bring this up immediately, could only smile wryly, "You know how my mother-in-law is; there’s no reasoning with her."

Zhuang Ruolan was angry. "Yueyao is in our estate, and everyone in the Ma Family is just fine, and even though Yueyao and Mingzhu stayed in the mountains for a few months, everyone was fine. How can she be harming someone just by meeting them once? Where does that even come from?" The Lady of Marquis Jingning is just a medicine jar, suffering from headaches and fevers all year round; it’s ridiculous to blame Yueyao.

Madam Ping felt somewhat at fault and apologized, "We are indeed to blame for this incident, and the Princely Heir also said that he will definitely compensate Miss Yueyao in the future."

Zhuang Ruolan was somewhat surprised. Her intention was not only to stand up for Yueyao but also to secure benefits for her. Having been wronged, compensation was naturally expected. However, she had not anticipated that the Princely Heir would openly speak of compensating Yueyao. This was good; with the Princely Heir’s word, Yueyao would not be at a loss.

With that issue resolved, the two discussed business matters. Zhuang Ruolan had suddenly mentioned maritime trade because it was facilitated by the Duke Mansion, and she had invited Madam Ping into this business. Now that she realized the risks of maritime trade were so great, she naturally informed Madam Ping.

Zhuang Ruolan shared these risks with Madam Ping, then said, "I had initially planned to invest sixty thousand taels of silver, but my husband said that maritime trade indeed involves great risks and does not approve of my investing so much. After hearing this, I also became worried, so I plan to invest only ten thousand taels instead." Zhuang Ruolan said all this because it was informed by Ma Peng, as she did not want Madam Ping to know that Yueyao also had a share. Being too noticeable as a lady might not be a good thing; she had never dared reveal her interest in business within the ladies’ chambers. Now, she wanted to engage in business partly for greater freedom and partly because Ma Peng was not against it.

Madam Ping was somewhat conflicted and after thinking it over, said, "How about I get back to you on this in a few days? I’d like to check with the Princely Heir to see if it’s really as perilous as you describe. If he thinks the business is too risky, then we also won’t invest so much."

Zhuang Ruolan said with a smile, "Not investing so much money leaves idle funds, which are also dead money. I’m thinking of doing some small-scale businesses; I wonder if you’d be interested."

Madam Ping was naturally interested; she had long since recouped her initial investment into the fabric shop, and now all her earnings were pure profit. Now that Zhuang Ruolan was inviting her again, she was naturally not going to decline: "What kind of business do you plan to do?"

Zhuang Ruolan shared her plans to open a ready-to-wear clothing shop and a cosmetics shop: "As long as the ready-to-wear and cosmetics shops are well-managed, the profits won’t be low." Zhuang Ruolan and Yueyao thought differently; she believed that both the clothing shop and the cosmetic shop should pursue high-end strategies to succeed. As long as they established a reputation in the upper circles, the profits would definitely be substantial.

Madam Ping, hearing Zhuang Ruolan’s analysis, felt it was very promising and naturally agreed to invest: "Once the shop is up and running, I’ll come and have a look." What Madam Ping meant was, this time she won’t just be investing money; she would also put in effort. Whether it’s the clothing shop or the cosmetics shop, she would help promote them.

That was exactly what Zhuang Ruolan wanted to hear from Madam Ping. She could help promote, but her status was somewhat modest, not attracting the attention of the wealthy ladies and officials’ families. Having Madam Ping push it would save her a lot of effort.

Zhuang Ruolan then mentioned the meaning of sharing the stocks; because there was an additional investor, Madam Ping couldn’t take thirty percent shares this time: "Yajing, I’ll give you twenty percent shares in both the clothing shop and the cosmetics shop, how about that?"

Madam Ping laughed, "Forty percent is forty percent; as long as we get it up and running, forty percent is not little." She had taken thirty percent in the fabric shop, did nothing, and earned more than two thousand taels every month, benefiting greatly. This time, though she would be helping a bit, it was still manageable, and thus taking twenty percent shares in each felt fair to her.

As they were speaking, a maid came in to inform, "Madam, Third Young Lady has come."

Mingzhu knew that Yueyao had not come; she was here to ask Zhuang Ruolan to bring something for Yueyao. As for the matter of Yueyao harming her mother, Mingzhu felt guilty. Her mother insisted it was Yueyao’s fault based on hearsay, even though the Imperial Physician said her mother’s illness was an old problem. Her mother adamantly blamed Yueyao and forbade Mingzhu from seeing Yueyao.

Zhuang Ruolan naturally wouldn’t accept the gift for Yueyao on her behalf, instead letting Mingzhu personally hand it to Yueyao when she saw her. It was an apology gift, and it was for Yueyao to accept herself.

Seeing Mingzhu look a bit disheartened, Madam Ping smiled, "In a few days, you will be able to go out." Mingzhu was currently not allowed to leave the estate, firstly because the Lady of Marquis Jingning forbade it, and secondly because the Heir Luo Shao felt that Mingzhu was currently keen on her studies, and it was good for her to learn as much as possible while she was still enthusiastic.

Mingzhu’s eyes lit up: "Really?"

Madam Ping nodded.

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