I started out with seven husbands, and I worked hard to support my family while crying.

Chapter 251: Spreading Rumors to Buy Shops Cheaply

Feeling his wife's soft, bone-like body, an indescribable feeling filled his entire being.

He even unconsciously reached out and hugged her back.

The two embraced for a moment until they were interrupted by a very discordant cough.

"Cough cough."

He Jinnian appeared in the room at some point.

He showed no displeasure on his face, but at this moment he felt inexplicably bitter and jealous.

In his view, why should Pei Yan be able to enjoy this special treatment?

They were all relatively equal, both husbands whom their wives had brought back from the government with money.

This cough instantly startled Fang Xiaoxiao awake.

Upon seeing that she was holding Pei Yan, Fang Xiaoxiao quickly withdrew her hand and took two steps back to create some distance between them.

She smoothed her hair, pretending nothing had happened, and turned to look at He Jinnian standing in the doorway.

"Jin Nian, what do you want to see me about so late?"

Thinking that He Jinnian must have something important to do in his room so late at night.

After Fang Xiaoxiao finished speaking, Pei Yan followed up immediately.

"Yes, Brother Jinnian, it's already late at night. What brings you to see my wife? Have you encountered any difficulties?"

Pei Yan didn't know why, but when facing He Jinnian, he would have a strange, indescribable feeling in his heart.

It felt like being caught having an affair with a married woman.

Although he had never actually done it, the thought just crossed his mind.

As He Jinnian listened to the two of them asking questions in unison, his facial expressions were incredibly varied, to the point that he even wondered if they were catching adulterers.

Having this thought, he quickly shook his head, trying to get rid of this indecent idea.

Then, he took a deep breath before speaking.

"What you and Brother Pei Yan said is quite interesting. If I had nothing to do, would I not have come to see you?"

His eyes were filled with deep resentment, just like that of a young widow who had suffered a lot of injustice; even his voice carried a hint of grievance.

He hadn't intended to come looking for his wife so late at night, but he happened to run into a message sent by his subordinate by carrier pigeon while he was strolling outside the courtyard gate.

The book mentions the government's previous confiscation of many shops on East Street.

Among the shops on East Street is their Lingxi Pavilion.

The letter stated that, due to the collusion between the prefect of Kyoto and powerful officials, the people were suffering greatly. After His Majesty investigated, he imprisoned the powerful officials and their associates in the imperial prison, and appointed a new prefect to return the ill-gotten gains to the people. He also ordered the shops on East Street to be re-auctioned.

Upon seeing this, he knew it was excellent news; with a little effort, he could definitely reclaim Lingxi Pavilion.

So he came to find Fang Xiaoxiao late at night. He was so excited that he didn’t even knock or ask before barging in.

But seeing his wife and Pei Yan embracing each other now made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

He Jinnian just looked at the two of them, not intending to reveal any more information he had received.

The air instantly became heavy.

Fang Xiaoxiao sensed that the atmosphere was very strange and decided to break the unpleasant feeling.

She coughed twice, then glanced at Pei Yan in front of her.

"Ahem, Young Master Pei, I just examined your body. The poison you were previously ingested has been largely neutralized. You will be fully recovered in just one month."

Fortunately, he's smart enough, and everyone already knows about Pei Yan's poisoning incident.

So she quickly came up with this seemingly lame excuse.

Regardless, let's just get through this first.

Pei Yan immediately understood and quickly picked up the conversation, even lowering his voice slightly to appear tired in order to show that he was poisoned.

"Thank you so much for saving my life, madam. I have no way to repay you in this life, but if I have the chance, I will definitely repay your kindness."

The two actors' performances were so fake it was unbelievable.

Even if He Jinnian wanted to pretend to be stupid, he simply couldn't stand it.

However, he also knew that if everyone were to break off relations at this moment, it wouldn't be a good thing.

Although he deeply loved his wife, he couldn't show it too much.

Think about this.

He Jinnian quickly interrupted the two of them acting and said leisurely.

"My wife has worked so hard. Not only does she have to worry about our health, but she also has to detoxify Brother Pei so late at night. I truly admire her."

He then quickly explained the purpose of his visit to everyone.

Fang Xiaoxiao listened to what he said about the government auctioning off shops, but at first she didn't take it seriously, since Pei Yan had already told her about it.

But when she heard that the government was going to auction off all the dozen or so shops on East Street, she listened more carefully.

If we're talking about a single shop, there's already a plan in place.

But if a dozen or so shops were auctioned off, and if the method we had in mind could influence all the shops on East Street, wouldn't we be able to get a huge bargain?

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. Fang Xiaoxiao didn't even realize that she had walked up to He Jinnian and was listening carefully to his plans.

He Jinnian first explained the matter of the shop auction, and then immediately continued.

"My lady, I think we can take advantage of this opportunity to acquire more shops and expand our Lingxi Pavilion several times over."

“Jin Nian is right. Since you just said that you have acquaintances in the government, you can certainly think about how to take over more shops.”

"My wife can rest assured about this. My brother and I are both bureaucrats and have known each other for many years. Asking him to help with this matter will definitely not be a problem at all."

"If that's the case, then it's even better."

Fang Xiaoxiao quickly began to plan in her mind how to spread rumors and gossip on East Street so that her competitors would be deterred and she could use the four thousand taels of silver notes she had to acquire five shops at once.

She calculated that, according to the information provided by He Jinnian, the government planned to auction off the shops on East Street at ten times the market price.

Currently, shops on East Street are priced starting at 5,000 taels of silver for a shop of about 100 square meters. The closer to the capital, the higher the price, with the highest reaching around 100,000 taels.

However, she didn't have that idea. She wanted to compete for the shop in the capital city. After all, if the rumors spread into the palace, she would end up losing more than she gained.

He Jinnian continued at this point.

"My lady, there's no need to worry too much. I'll go see my colleagues tomorrow and also report back to the Ministry of Justice."

I almost forgot, He Jinnian is the Governor-General of the Judicial Commission. During this period, everyone has been going through all kinds of life and death, which has led to almost forgetting one thing: some of them are officials in the imperial court.