The Lucky Heiress

Chapter 469: Caught by Chu Lan_1

She chose to take the high-quality route with her materials, aiming to whet people’s appetites and apply the principle of hunger marketing to boost future sales.

True to her expectations, Sun Sanniang pestered Wei Ruo, insisting that she replenish the goods for her, and even claimed that she would raise the purchase price by another 20% if Wei Ruo agreed to exclusively supply Caiyun Room.

Naturally, Wei Ruo couldn’t agree to this. She could continue to supply Caiyun Room, but not exclusively.

Sun Sanniang had no choice but to go along with Wei Ruo’s wishes, as Wei Ruo was the only source of these goods.

Before Wei Ruo left, Sun Sanniang gifted her some tea leaves and courteously saw her out to the door.

The attitude was notably different from Wei Ruo’s first visit.

After departing from Caiyun Room, Wei Ruo then went to Daiyue Residence.

At present, there wasn’t much happening at Daiyue Residence, and its operations were relatively stable.

The current membership had reached an astonishing 189 people.

This number had already exceeded Wei Ruo’s expectations.

There sure were plenty of wealthy elite families in Capital City!

These members enabled Wei Ruo to earn a staggering 15,000 taels of silver in just two months!

This hefty sum was of great importance to Wei Ruo. With these silver taels, she could continue to purchase new properties and plots of land in Capital City.

Not only was the problem of setting up a Four Treasure House branch in Capital City solved, but she could also consider expanding to other properties.

We Ruo was now making a lot of money but also spending it quickly.

Most of her income came from engaging in businesses with the wealthy, as well as her partnership with Fan Chengxu.

Her expenditures were primarily concerned with purchasing properties and farmlands.

Essentially, apart from the small portion of silver she kept in hand to ensure liquidity, the rest was used to fund her expansion efforts.

After completing her tasks, Wei Ruo began inquiring about the land prices in the surrounding areas of Capital City, including Baoding Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture, and Zhending Prefecture.

Wei Ruo planned to grow her new variety of cotton.

Her new cotton variety not only had the advantage of long fibers but also the plants themselves had excellent resistance to diseases and pests, cold tolerance, and high-yielding characteristics.

Such cotton plants were cultivated by generations of scientists from her old world, and her space instantly provided her with these top-tier plants.

How could she not take full advantage of it, increase production in the outside world, produce more cotton, and not only improve the comfort of clothings but also allow more people to wear cotton clothes?

This was crucial in dealing with the possible extreme cold weather in future.

Lands near Capital City were out of the question as most of them were designated for fresh vegetable growing for the nobles and dignitaries living in the city.

Not only were these lands expensive, but many of them were owned by the royal family and could not be bought or sold.

Wei Ruo had to consider more distant areas, looking for lands that were reasonably priced and suitable for development.

By the time Wei Ruo had ended her busy day, it was already dark.

Only then did Wei Ruo realize that she had been so engrossed in her work that she had lost track of time.

Fortunately, she was now at King Rui Residence, so she didn’t have to worry about coming up with explanations for the household when she returned late.

Wei Ruo and Xiumei got busy getting on the carriage and heading to King Rui’s Residence.

Xiumei was in the front driving the carriage, with Wei Ruo sitting inside.

At this time, there were very few people on the streets, and the Armed Forces Department had started patrolling.

Thankfully, it wasn’t curfew time yet, otherwise that would’ve posed a problem.

The carriage was about a hundred meters from King Rui’s Residence when it reached Suzaku Street.

“Halt!”

A group of government soldiers from the Armed Forces Department stopped Wei Ruo’s carriage.

Xiumei quickly halted.

“Who goes there? What are you doing here so late at night?”

An officer in armor stepped forward to question them.

Those from the Armed Forces Department were tasked with protecting the capital city. In encountering any suspicious individual, they would typically approach and inquire.

Wei Ruo lifted the curtain to reveal her face and said, “Sir, I’m a runner for King Rui, took care of some errands for him. Sorry for being late.”

As she spoke, Wei Ruo reached into her pocket and produced the identity badge from King Rui’s Residence.

She had prepared this kind of thing in advance, though she didn’t realize she would need it so soon.

Just as Wei Ruo was about to hand over the badge, a familiar figure approached.

To Wei Ruo’s surprise, she swiftly withdrew the badge.

The officer who had been questioning Wei Ruo immediately saluted at the sight of the newcomer, “I pay my respects, Prince.”

Chu Lan currently served as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces Department in Ying Tian Prefecture. He was responsible for chasing down thieves in Capital City, regulating streets and canals, and overseeing prison affairs and fire bans.

Chu Lan looked at Wei Ruo and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m out running errands…” Wei Ruo began to respond, instinctively turning her face away to avoid Chu Lan’s gaze.

“I just heard you working for King Rui?” asked Chu Lan.

Apparently, he had heard her words after all.

We Ruo remained silent.

Chu Lan continued, “Didn’t you dislike power and influence?”

Wei Ruo clenched her fists, knowing it was hard to bluff her way out of this one. She decided to confront Chu Lan head-on, “What about Master Zhu? How did Master Zhu become the Commander-in-chief?”

Chu Lan was at a loss for words.

After a moment of silence, he said, “I admit I deceived you, and I apologize. But can you tell me why you, who refuse to associate with the powerful, have become a runner for King Rui?”

“Prince Rui has shown me kindness, and I’m willing to work for him,” Wei Ruo replied.

Hearing those words, Chu Lan’s fists tightened unconsciously.

He felt a surge of anger in his chest, but he wasn’t sure why he felt so enraged when he heard Xu Heyou admitting that he was willing to work for King Rui.

The officer standing by sensed Chu Lan’s displeasure and dared not even breathe too loudly.

He didn’t know the identity of the young man he had stopped tonight, but it seemed that he had some connection with both King Jing and King Rui.

“Prince, may I leave now?” Wei Ruo asked Chu Lan.

“Should I let you go?” Chu Lan retorted.

“Prince, I don’t seem to have done anything wrong, have I?”

Chu Lan looked intensely at her, “Whatever Rui Wang gives you, I can give you too.”

“Prince, I’m just a humble merchant. A person of your stature surely has no shortage of capable people around you. Why insist on me?”

“You are different,” Chu Lan spoke with a fixed gaze, and his tone seemed somewhat pained for some reason.

Different, my foot!

We Ruo tried to control her urge to retort Chu Lan, considering how to escape the situation.

Just then, a group of people came from the direction of King Rui’s Residence. Although they were not very clear in the dark at first, as they got closer, they turned out to be Wei Jinyi.

He was dressed in casual attire, with his exquisite face slightly pale.

Xiaobei was supporting him, and he seemed very weak.

Upon seeing him, all the government soldiers saluted.

“We pay our respects to King Rui.”

Chu Lan squinted, watching Wei Jinyi closely.