Su Xian could not help covering her mouth with her handkerchief.
Duoduo, however, was rather curious. “The assassin missed?”
A look of approval flashed through Xiao Yi’s eyes.
He gave a slight nod.
“The Crown Prince will certainly investigate the assassination attempt, so hurry there and back!”
Duoduo tilted her little head.
“Then, Mother, you stay here.”
“Aunt Xu and I will be back soon.”
Although Su Xian was deeply worried, she nodded in agreement.
She understood that she was too weak. If anything happened, Xu Jinxin could only protect one person.
She would be better off not becoming a burden.
Xiao Yi nodded approvingly. “Yingniang will stay behind to keep you company.”
Su Xian understood what he meant. “All right.”
As they spoke, Baihe came in to announce that Madam Li had arrived with her daughter.
Xu Jinxin entered, holding Yingniang’s hand.
When she saw that Xiao Yi was there as well, the smile on her face immediately faded somewhat.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Xu Jinxin properly curtsied to Xiao Yi.
“Madam Li, you may rise.” Xiao Yi’s expression was calm.
Xu Jinxin turned to Su Xian. “Are you ready to leave?”
Su Xian smiled apologetically at Xu Jinxin.
“I’m not feeling well today, so I won’t be going.”
“Oh, and leave Yingniang here. Didn’t she want to learn the stitching technique I used last time?”
“I happen to have time today, so I can teach her.”
Yingniang’s eyes lit up at once.
But then she shook her head.
“Thank you, Your Highness, but I promised to accompany the princess outside.”
Xu Jinxin looked at Su Xian in confusion.
They had clearly agreed yesterday to go out together today.
Why had she changed her mind after only one night?
Duoduo took Yingniang’s hand. “Sister, Mother isn’t feeling well. Stay behind and help me look after her, all right?”
“When my shop opens, you can go then. I’ll treat you to something delicious!”
Xu Jinxin was very perceptive. She glanced at Duoduo, then stroked Yingniang’s hair.
“Duoduo is right. The shop is nothing but an empty building right now. There’s nothing much to see.”
“Besides, haven’t you been talking about that stitching technique for ages? Now that you have the chance to learn it, you’d better take it.”
“What if your Aunt Su changes her mind later? Who will you learn it from then?”
Hearing Duoduo and her mother say this, Yingniang hesitated.
“But Princess, I promised you.”
Duoduo smiled and comforted her. “It’s all right. Besides, we’ll be back soon!”
“The weather is so hot. Wouldn’t you be more comfortable waiting for me here at the residence?”
Seeing that Duoduo did not mind, Yingniang nodded.
“All right, then. I’ll stay and watch over Your Highness.”
Duoduo grinned so widely that all her teeth showed.
“Great! Thank you, Sister!”
She took Xu Jinxin’s hand. “Father, Mother, we’re leaving.”
Xiao Yi gave a faint nod. Su Xian opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.
Xu Jinxin led Duoduo out of the residence. Beside the carriage stood more than a dozen guards.
Xu Jinxin helped Duoduo into the carriage.
Only after Duoduo sat down beside her did Xu Jinxin finally ask in a low voice, “Duoduo, what happened?”
Duoduo had known from the start that she could not hide anything from Xu Jinxin.
She quietly told her what Xiao Yi had said.
A flicker passed through Xu Jinxin’s eyes.
“Who could be so bold as to assassinate the Crown Prince?”
Duoduo shook her head. She had not had time to ask just now.
Xu Jinxin thought for a moment.
“Your Highness means that even the Crown Prince doesn’t know who tried to assassinate him?”
“So we need to be on our guard against the Crown Prince as well?”
Duoduo nodded vigorously.
“Aunt Xu, I could have canceled today’s plans.”
“But as you know, money is even more important in troubled times.”
“Besides, my teacher once told me that the more chaotic the times, the easier it is to make money.”
“So I want to get the shop open as soon as possible.”
Xu Jinxin nodded. “I understand.”
“Don’t worry. Since I promised to help, I certainly will.”
After thinking it over, Xu Jinxin still felt uneasy.
“If we encounter danger later, you must stay by my side. Whatever you do, don’t run off!”
Duoduo blinked and hooked her arm around Xu Jinxin’s.
“Mm-hmm! I’ll stay right beside Aunt Xu!”
Xu Jinxin patted Duoduo’s hand reassuringly.
“Don’t be afraid. Aunt Xu is here. I’ll handle everything.”
Duoduo blinked and gave her a sweet, obedient smile.
“With Aunt Xu here, Duoduo isn’t afraid!”
Xu Jinxin gently bumped her forehead against Duoduo’s and clasped the little girl’s hand tightly.
When the sound of the horse’s hooves finally stopped, the carriage came to a halt.
“Princess, we’ve arrived,” Shitou called from outside.
Duoduo and Xu Jinxin exchanged a glance before getting out of the carriage hand in hand.
Lüdou and Qingliu hurried over to join them.
Shitou opened the door of one of the shops, and the merchants in the neighboring businesses all poked their heads out to look.
When they saw Xu Jinxin and Duoduo, they gathered together and began whispering among themselves.
Xu Jinxin led Duoduo inside and looked around the shop.
Xiao Yi had already arranged for people to get everything ready.
Xu Jinxin carefully surveyed the place.
“Duoduo, everything here is already set up. There’s no need to make any further changes.”
“It’s just the space by the entrance. I think we could do what we did with the barbecue shop—paint a few pictures and have them framed.”
“That way, passersby will be able to tell at a glance what kind of things we sell inside.”
“Your paintings alone will make people want to come in and buy something.”
“And if you hold some kind of special event on opening day, you’re sure to attract plenty of customers.”
Xu Jinxin offered Duoduo several suggestions.
Duoduo nodded. “Mm-hmm, that’s what I was thinking too.”
“Oh, right, Aunt Xu. Could we use the pastries from the palace for one of the promotions?”
“Something like that limited-purchase offer you mentioned before. What if we did it on opening day?”
Xu Jinxin considered it, then nodded.
“That could work. But I think we should also make a more ordinary pastry and sell it at a special price.”
“A special price?” Duoduo did not understand.
“Something everyone sells in the market, such as the commonly available mung bean cakes.”
“They usually cost two wen each, but you could sell them for one wen apiece—or even two for one wen. That would be the special price.”
“Two for one wen? Wouldn’t we lose a fortune?” Lüdou hurriedly cut in.
Xu Jinxin shook her head.
“We wouldn’t lose money. We simply wouldn’t make any profit.”
“If we don’t make money, why do it?” Duoduo asked, puzzled.
“It’s not that we wouldn’t make any money at all. We’d just earn less.” Xu Jinxin patiently explained.
“For example, the one-wen cake would be the same size as the ones normally sold.”
“But the two-for-one-wen cakes would be smaller.”
“The special price means keeping the profit margin low. The goal is to sell in large quantities.”
“Once we have an attractive pastry like that, other customers will come inside to browse as well.”
“As for the palace pastries you mentioned, we can charge more for those and sell them in limited quantities.”
“But what if everyone goes for the special-price pastries, and no one buys the expensive ones?”
“Wouldn’t we end up losing money just to gain attention?”
