Su Xian shook her head.
"It doesn't seem to be going too well. Baihe said that Jinxin comes back exhausted every day, so I couldn't bear to ask."
"Your Highness, I have thought it over."
"If there's a loss, let the estate cover the silver. What do you think?"
Xiao Yi tapped his fingers against the table. "There is no money in the estate's accounts."
Su Xian asked cautiously, "Then I will use my dowry..."
She stopped halfway, unable to continue.
Because she noticed the strange expression Xiao Yi wore as he looked at her.
"Pingting, does Duoduo know about this idea of yours?" Xiao Yi reminded her.
"I mentioned it, but Duoduo refused," Su Xian answered honestly.
"And does Mrs. Li know?" Xiao Yi continued to ask.
"I haven't had the time to tell her yet."
Xiao Yi smiled.
"It seems you have too much free time on your hands, Pingting."
"How about I find something for you to do?"
Su Xian didn't understand why Xiao Yi had suddenly changed the subject.
She was a bit confused. "Your Highness, is there something you need my help with?"
Xiao Yi nodded.
"Yes. If you have nothing to do, make a couple of outfits for Duoduo."
"Now that she is studying at the Imperial Academy, her clothes cannot be too shabby!"
The people in the palace always judged a person by their clothes first.
If one dressed poorly, even the palace eunuchs and maids would bully them.
Su Xian nodded.
"I am already working on it. I just didn't expect Duoduo to grow so fast!"
"The clothes I made for her previously have to be taken apart and remade now."
Xiao Yi interrupted her, "Don't bother. Later, I will have the manager of the fabric shop send over some fashionable new materials."
Hearing this, Su Xian hesitated a little.
"Your Highness, didn't you just say there was no silver in the accounts?"
"It's fine. Doesn't Duoduo have silver?" The corners of Xiao Yi's eyes crinkled with amusement.
"Besides, she has made a huge fortune recently!"
Curiosity filled Su Xian's eyes.
"What did Duoduo do to earn a huge fortune? Is it a lot?"
Xiao Yi's lips curved up. "Anyway, it's enough to cover all our clothes for the rest of our lives."
Su Xian smiled gently. "Your Highness, you are teasing me again. Duoduo is so young, how could she earn that much silver?"
"Besides, whatever she earns should be saved for her dowry, so she will have confidence in her future husband's home."
Xiao Yi looked steadily at Su Xian and pondered for a long while.
"My daughter will not marry out!"
Su Xian's eyes widened involuntarily.
"Your Highness, no matter how much you dote on Duoduo, you can't keep her by your side for her whole life, can you?"
"What if she finds someone she likes in the future? Could you really stop her from marrying?"
Xiao Yi raised a hand. "What I mean is that Duoduo will not marry out into another family!"
"Our daughter will only take a live-in son-in-law!"
Su Xian stared at Xiao Yi, stunned. "Take... a live-in son-in-law?"
Xiao Yi nodded gently.
"We only have this one daughter, Pingting. Could you bear to let her marry far away?"
"What if she gets bullied? With her personality, do you think she would come back and tell us?"
Su Xian thought about it and shook her head.
"You are right, Your Highness. If Duoduo stays by our side, at least we can keep an eye on them."
"It's just that, if we want to take in a son-in-law, I'm afraid the child's marriage prospects will be much more difficult."
How could an outstanding man be willing to marry into his wife's family?
Those who were willing would definitely have some flaws.
Given how much they loved Duoduo, they certainly wouldn't want her to compromise and suffer grievances.
Thinking of this, Su Xian was filled with worry.
Xiao Yi, however, was unconcerned.
"I have already thought about it."
"As long as the other party is willing to marry into our family, all other conditions are negotiable!"
Su Xian opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words she was about to say.
Duoduo was only four years old now. It would be at least a decade before she came of age and married.
It was still too early!
Who knew what things would be like in ten years?
There was no need to upset Xiao Yi over something so far in the future.
"Yes, I will listen to Your Highness," Su Xian replied gently.
Xiao Yi nodded in satisfaction.
"Yunxiao!" he called out toward the door.
"Your Highness!" Yunxiao pushed the door open and entered.
"Then I will leave you to your work, Your Highness. I shall take my leave," Su Xian said, knowing Xiao Yi had official business to attend to.
Xiao Yi nodded. He picked up a pen and paper nearby and began to write and draw.
Before long, he had sketched out a blueprint.
He blew the ink dry, placed the paper into an envelope, and sealed it with wax.
"Yunxiao, pass this on to Lingfeng, Lingyu, and the others."
"Also, have the manager of the Yunxiangshang boutique deliver the newest fabrics and jewelry for the Princess Consort to choose from."
"By the way, how are things going with Li Jin?"
Xiao Yi handed the envelope to Yunxiao, issuing his orders one after another.
Yunxiao took the envelope and carefully tucked it into his sleeve.
"To answer Your Highness, Master Li organized some sort of auction event."
"This subordinate heard that our shop was practically bursting with people."
"An auction? What does that mean?" Xiao Yi looked surprised.
He had never heard this term before.
Yunxiao scratched his head. "This subordinate didn't fully understand it either."
"It seems that Master Li invited some wealthy merchants to the shop."
"Then, he had everyone bid prices on the same piece of jade rough."
"Whoever offered the highest price got it!"
"For all the winning pieces, our shop will cut the stones for free."
"Then, we also take on the jewelry making, only charging for the labor..."
Yunxiao reported everything he knew to Xiao Yi in detail.
"And the result? How was it?" Xiao Yi only cared about the outcome.
Yunxiao smiled.
"Your Highness, the people sent to inquire came back saying that the orders at our shop are already lined up until the end of next year!"
"Every day, there are crowds of people surrounding our shop, asking Master Li to cut open stones."
"When other shops saw this, they followed our example and organized auction events too."
"Master Li has now introduced a limit, auctioning off only one stone per day."
"He also tells people that the stones from other shops in the market are quite good too."
"Your Highness, why do you think Master Li is pushing business away?"
After listening, Xiao Yi pondered for a moment.
"Well, Li Jin's approach is correct."
"A single tree does not make a forest; the wind will surely destroy it."
Yunxiao was uneducated; he didn't understand all this talk about trees and wind.
But if His Highness said it was right, then it must be right.
"And how are things on Mrs. Li's end?" Xiao Yi continued to ask.
A trace of confusion appeared in Yunxiao's eyes.
"Your Highness, that isn't our property, so this subordinate didn't ask."
"We've already planted several people inside. If we pry further, we might be noticed."
Xiao Yi shot Yunxiao a sideways glance. "Do you think Li Jin doesn't know?"
Yunxiao was startled and lowered his head.
"This subordinate will go ask right away!"
"Mhm. Remember to send the letter out first!"
"Yes." Yunxiao replied and left.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Duoduo was writing with her left hand while occasionally glancing at Shitou, who was wolfing down his food.
"Eat slowly, don't choke!"
"I'm in no huwwy, you can tell me the details after you finish eating."
