Over the next few days, Su Jing Fei worked hard on managing the three businesses and learned a bit about each of them to help supplement her own knowledge about the current world’s economy and development. Luckily, Dongfan was a very capable old woman and used to manage a shop in her younger days before becoming a mama; thus, Su Jing Fei found it easier to have Dongfan along while she visited each store. In the long run, she knew she couldn’t manage all three by herself, so having someone with basic managerial skills was very helpful as Su Jing Fei could depend on Dongfan to run the businesses in her absence.

With previous experience working customer service and managerial jobs, Su Jing Fei was able to work out feasible methods of business tactics to implement in all three stores. For the clothing store, she worked with some of the more experienced tailors to find affordable prices for durable and medium-quality materials. Some of the older and unused materials would be used for repairing clothes brought in by customer or be made into clothing to be donated to the local monastery and orphanages. This was a good tactic because in the few days Su Jing Fei had studied the market and laws of Chu, she had come across the policy in which donations for the public good would result in tax deductions for the next fiscal year. Thus, Su Jing Fei made sure the new manager of the clothing store as well as Dongfan were familiar with bookkeeping on inventory and sales. The same business tactics were applied to the other two businesses. Whatever old jewelry that didn’t sell and collected dust would be burned down back to the basic metals and either repurposed for a new item or was made into utensils that could be donated. For the medicine shop, Su Jing Fei wanted to implement a community health approach to their tax deduction in which the leading herbalist named Yaozu would perform a public service by helping to make medicine to treat illnesses in local monasteries, shelters, and orphanages. Everything had to be carefully documented. Luckily, as a few weeks passed, the small changes in their approach to business garnered respect among the commoners and nobles alike, and the three stores bustled with new customers.

“You have excellent business sense,” praised Xie shi to Su Jing Fei when the latter dropped by for a visit. “If only our little Ming’er could learn from Su xiaojie! He’d become a great businessman someday.”

Currently, Mingyu was sitting on Su Jing Fei’s lap and kicking his legs back and forth excitedly at the sight of a box of treats Su Jing Fei had bought from a popular confectionary store in Fuo Lan. The businesses had been doing well so Su Jing Fei had stopped by with treats bought with a bit of her extra income. “This one only knows a bit here and there,” Su Jing Fei replied humbly with a smile at Xie shi’s kind praise. “However, Ming’er already knows the best bit of business sense.” The young woman looked at the little boy as he made a small pouty face at being unable to reach the sweets on the table. She laughed at the sight of it. “Make it so that your customers are unable to say no! Who could say no to such a cute face like Ming’er’s.”

Guo Su Yin looked at the two women fawning over Ming’er and laughed as well. While she expected her mother to dote on the young child, she hadn’t expected Su xiaojie to act and speak words so much like a doting bomu as well. It was a strange yet heartwarming sight.

After playing with Mingyu for a little bit, Su Jing Fei was ready to speak to Xie shi about her true purpose for visiting. Guo Su Yin quickly took Mingyu out to play in the garden, leaving Su Jing Fei and Xie shi alone in the older woman’s tearoom. The servants poured tea for the two women before closing the door shut quietly behind themselves.

“Although I am happy to visit and see Mingyu and everyone, this one has another purpose in visiting the Guo family today,” Su Jing Fei said calmly, looking relaxed and refined as always. Xie shi sipped her tea quietly. “This one hopes to purchase a carriage from the Guo family.”

Xie shi set down her cup, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. “This lowly one is unsure she understands Su xiaojie.”

“This one hopes to purchase a special wagon carriage that this one has seen before.” Su Jing Fei hinted, giving a small smile. “This is something only the Guo family has, and it is something I can only ask from the Guo family.”

Xie shi caught the hint, knowing exactly what Su Jing Fei was speaking about. Su Jing Fei meant to buy one of the wagon carriages with the hidden compartment in the back! “It is something that can be done,” Xie shi replied with a warm smile. “Su xiaojie does not need to worry about paying for it. As an elder and old resident of Fuo Lan, take it as a welcoming gift from the Guo family.”

Su Jing Fei bowed respectfully. “This one thanks Xie shi for her kindness; however, the gift is too grand to accept without some payment. Therefore, I will show Xie shi something new that I have recently created. Does Xie shi remember those silver darts she gifted to me awhile ago?”

The older woman nodded her head, curious to see what Su Jing Fei was going to show her. What she hadn’t expected was for the young woman to start taking off her beautiful hair ornaments and accessories. However, on closer inspection… she realized that the beautiful hair ornaments were the silver darts! “May I?” Xie shi asked excitedly, wanting to look closer at the intricately disguised weapons.

“Of course. It pleases me greatly that Xie shi has such interest in them.” Su Jing Fei said with a smile.

Xie shi picked up one of the hair pins, observing it with eager interest. While the overall shape of the small dart hadn’t changed, the ends have been reconfigured to resembles the style of beautiful floral hair pins. The small darts could be conspicuously concealed in a woman’s hair without much suspicion! Xie shi was quite intrigued; in this day and age, most weapons such as swords, knives, and the like never took into consideration a woman’s ability to carry and conceal them. But Su Jing Fei had managed to create a perfect small weapon for self defense that could be concealed in a woman’s every day attire! However, Xie shi also had to give Su Jing Fei credit because each small dart was slightly weighted and with all of them combined on her head, it must be quite heavy to keep in all day. “This is truly a magnificent idea!” Xie shi remarked truthfully. “Su xiaojie definitely has great business sense. In a market as lucrative as weaponry, the Guo family would definitely be interested in investing into similar ventures.”

Su Jing Fei thanked Xie shi for her kind words as Yize and Xiao Chen began placing the hair pins back into their xiaojie’s hair. “This one would be pleased to be able to work together with the Guo family in the future.” Su Jing Fei knew her managerial skills and business sense were her greatest assets in the current world. In this patriarchal society, women usually were regarded as property, but it seemed that the current Chu wasn’t as strict because it wasn’t rare for women to be the owners of their own property in Fuo Lan. Thus, combined with her modern knowledge, Su Jing Fei could utilize a fountain of knowledge yet unknown to this world; hopefully, this ‘innovation’ would help her make enough money to live a comfortable life in Fuo Lan!

Once they finished speaking a bit more about future possible collaborations, Su Jing Fei set out to head back to home. Xie shi sent a servant to send the special carriage to accompany them back to Mudan-yu. Upon returning to Mudan-yu, Su Jing Fei tipped the Guo family’s servant before sending them back on their way home.

“This lowly one welcomes da xiaojie back home!” Zihuan bowed respectfully as the doors to Mudan-yu closed behind them.

“How are the new servants, Zihuan? Are they acclimating to their jobs well?” Su Jing Fei asked, walking slowly as she observed the courtyards of Mudan-yu. The residence had accumulated a handful of new servants in the past weeks thanks to Mu Tan and Dongfan. Zihuan seemed to be quite unhappy at that, but didn’t say anything since they acted on behalf of Su Jing Fei’s orders. With the extra income from the businesses, the new servants could be paid well and so had worked happily over the weeks to clean up Mudan-yu. Su Jing Fei was pleased to see the progress, walking past the garden that was now filled with budding flowers.

“The servants are doing well and working hard.” Zihuan replied with a happy tone. Although Zihuan did not like that Mu Tan and Dongfan were doing the week that he as a head attendant should be doing, he was still glad to be able to have reliable help around Mudan-yu; most likely also because his workload decreased, and he could wave around more power over the newer servants.

Su Jing Fei nodded her head in approval. “Good. Mudan-yu looks a lot better nowadays and is more lively.” The young woman strolled through the courtyards, keeping a keen eye on the servants to remember their faces. While she knew that Mudan-yu prospered with more servants, Su Jing Fei was also wary of too many unfamiliar individuals entering Mudan-yu. Her poisoners were still unknown. She trusted Mu Tan and Dongfan, but these new people could be anybody.

As they passed by the small pond in the center of Mudan-yu, Su Jing Fei slowed her steps as the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up. Someone was watching them! But from where? And how did they get inside Mudan-yu? She could only recall her previous experiences and guess at who was responsible. It was no coincidence that she’d experienced a similar feeling back when meeting Li Wei Sheng; it had to be his doing. Had he sent hidden guards to watch her? And if so, why?

The two yatou watched as their da xiaojie’s pleased expression shifted into a neutral calm; they wondered at the change in her sudden demeanor as Su Jing Fei seemed to be lost in thought. However, suddenly a big splash caused the two yatou to freeze in fear! Zihuan’s eyes looked in horror at the sight before him. He didn’t know how it happened. One moment his xiaojie was walking in front of him, and in the next moment, she had somehow fallen into the pond!

“Da xiaojie!” The three servants exclaimed, rushing the edge of the pond. Luckily, it wasn’t too deep, and Su Jing Fei was only submerged through her waist. However, her initial fall had caused her to splash the entirety of herself from head to toe in pond water, causing the young women’s appearance to become a rather pitiful one. Su Jing Fei’s hair hung in wet clumps as the robes she wore soaked through, causing her to shiver in the cold water until she was able to trudge her way through the pond and out of it on her own.

Luckily, they were close to Su Jing Fei’s own courtyard, so Mu Tan and Dongfan had come rushing out to help them. With a wave of her hand, Su Jing Fei dismissed Zihuan, letting Mu Tan wrap a warm cloth around her as they made their way into her room. The wet clothes clung onto Su Jing Fei’s slightly trembling body; although it was spring, the water from the pond seemed to still retain a bit of its icy chill from the thawed winter snow of the previous season.

“What happened out there?” Mu Tan asked Yize and Xiao Chen demandingly.

“I don’t know,” Yize cried, looking frightfully at her xiaojie’s worrisome appearance. “We were following behind da xiaojie, but suddenly, she fell into the pond. Everything happened so fast!”

“Da xiaojie, we must change your clothes or else you’ll catch a terrible cold!” Xiao Chen spoke hurriedly as she rushed to the clothing chest to pick out some fresh warm clothes for her xiaojie.

Su Jing Fei began peeling herself out of the wet clothes with the help of the four yatou and got dressed into fresh warm robes. Before putting on the outer robes, Su Jing Fei held up a hand to stop Xiao Chen dressing her. “Stop.” Her command was firm, and the four yatou halted in their movements. Su Jing Fei relaxed into the warm clothes for a moment, breathing a large sigh of relief. Falling into the water wasn’t as bad as she had thought it to be. “From here on out, this xiaojie has fallen ill with a terrible cold and will no longer see any visitors. The only ones who will be able to enter this courtyard are you four.”

Mu Tan furrowed her brows in confusion for a moment, but suddenly, it clicked in her mind. Her xiaojie had fallen into the pond on purpose! Thus, for everyone who had seen her fall into the pond, there would be no questioning the fact that her xiaojie had contracted such a terrible cold from an unfortunate event. But why did she need to elaborate such a ruse to avoid seeing people?

Su Jing Fei moved to the bed and pulled out a smaller chest from underneath. “For the next few days, Mu Tan will be accompanying me out. We’ll be staying outside Mudan-yu for a few days. In the meantime, Dongfan will be taking care of the businesses. You may take Xiao Chen with you on the occasion that you need help. However, it is important to have Yize remain in Mudan-yu in this courtyard. We must maintain the illusion that I am sick in bed with a terrible cold.”

“But why do we need to go to through such an elaborate scheme for da xiaojie to stay out a few days? This lowly one is worried that da xiaojie could truly catch a terrible cold from such a fright earlier!” Xiao Chen said worriedly while noticing the paleness of her xiaojie’s complexion. She was glad at least that the shivering had stopped, but it still had caused her such a terrible scare to see her xiaojie fall into the pond unexpectedly!

Su Jing Fei’s eyes sharpened, and her voice was slightly cold as she spoke. “Because I do not have the patience to wait any longer. Everything I need has arrived, and now it is time to go out there and find my sister once and for all.” Her pitiful younger sister was still out there somewhere, having been sold off to a brothel by Feng Ruo Qiang! She couldn’t just sit and wait! Everything she’d done up until now was to give her the best chances of finding her sister, and she’d stop at nothing to achieve that goal!

After a few days, two people in Fuo Lan also discussed Su Jing Fei's unfortunate accident and sudden illness. “You said Su Jing Fei fell into the pond and is bedridden in Mudan-yu with a cold?” Li Wei Sheng asked Shan Yu, sipping his tea calmly while resting in his room. Those dark black eyes flickered to the hidden guard bowing in front of him, and the young master set his cup down with an unimpressed expression.

“Yes, young master.” Shan Yu said in a quiet voice. “After returning to Mudan-yu with a new carriage gifted by the Guo family, Su Jing Fei became bedridden after falling into her courtyard pond. It seemed she became lost in thought and tripped over something. However, this lowly one finds it suspicious that in the few days following after her accident, the servant Mu Tan has gone missing.”

“Isn’t that the female martial artist that Su Jing Fei has kept at her side since arriving in Fuo Lan?” Li Wei Sheng said observingly, his interest piqued.

“Young master is correct.” Shan Yu replied.

Li Wei Sheng leaned back in his chair, thinking about Su Jing Fei’s curious personality. While initially he hadn’t thought much of her, from Shan Yu’s observations and speaking with the Guo family, Li Wei Sheng became intrigued about the da xiaojie of the Su family. He’d already known about the circumstances in which brought her to Fuo Lan; Chen Hui Zhong had informed Li Wei Sheng about Chen Hui Zhe’s broken engagement afterall. Apparently, the capital was buzzing with rumors about Chen Hui Zhe’s supposed affair with the Minister of Justice’s er xiaojie Jiang Li Ling. While Su Jing Fei had indeed suffered a wrong, it seemed the xiaojie wasn’t so innocent herself because she had bullied Jiang Li Ling terribly. Seeing as how the xiaojie wasn’t so haughty and proud as the rumors made her to be, Li Wei Sheng was curious as to what was the true nature of Su Jing Fei. Suddenly, a thought crossed Li Wei Sheng’s mind. “Did Su Jing Fei ever call for a doctor?”

“No, a doctor was never called for by Su Jing Fei or anyone else from Mudan-yu.” answered Shan Yu.

Li Wei Sheng’s lips rose into a grin, making his handsome appearance even more attractive with the mischievous expression. “How truly strange for servants to forgo a doctor when their da xiaojie is so deathly ill that she cannot even get out of bed. One almost thinks that this Su Jing Fei fell into the pond purpose…” What a clever girl, Li Wei Sheng thought amused. Such a formidable ruse could only come from an intelligent and willful mind. Maybe he’d have to pay Su Jing Fei a visit after she recovers from her ‘cold.’