The madam who came to prepare Ye Li's dowry was Minister Ye's cousin-in-law. Although her husband was only a fifth-rank official and was not as prominent as the Ye family, he was still a kind person. The sisters-in-law often heard about the third young lady and sympathized with Ye Li, the legitimate daughter of the Ye family. Usually, Ye Li rarely went out of the house. They only felt that she was a gentle and quiet girl and was not as bad as others said. Naturally, they understood that those rumors were spread by Wang shi. Now that they met her, although she was not as bright and beautiful as the Ye family's second young lady, nor as delicate and beautiful as the fourth young lady, her temperament was gentle and elegant. Her speech and behavior were very appropriate, especially that pair of quiet eyes. Although they were as still as water, they always made people feel that she was different from other young ladies. Although she was different from the gentle and beautiful women that many men liked, she was definitely not worse than the other young ladies of the Ye family. They couldn't help but feel wronged for Ye Li. Marrying the sickly and useless Prince was fine. The dowry of ten thousand taels was a lot in an ordinary family, but compared to the other young ladies of the Ye family, it was not even comparable to the young ladies who married a few years earlier. Fortunately, the old matriarch was reasonable and returned the original Ye family's manor and shops to the third young lady. Otherwise, the Ye family would be embarrassed.
Ye Li was in a good mood after taking back the properties left by her mother. She was too lazy to care about the old matriarch giving Ye Ying ten thousand taels and Wang shi using a lot of public money for Ye Ying's dowry. Originally, there were favored and unfavored children in a family. Even ten fingers were long and short. She didn't have any opinion that the Ye family doted on Ye Ying more, as long as they didn't embarrass her. As for the future, although she didn't think that her maternal family could give her much support in the future, she couldn't fall out with her maternal family before she married. She spent two days checking the shops' accounts, but the results made Ye Li frown. Out of the twelve shops, five of them were losing money, and four of them were maintaining a balance. The three shops that were actually making money were only making a small profit. Four of the eight farmsteads were not the original ones. Wang shi's explanation was that when Zhaoyi entered the palace, four of the farmsteads had already been used as flowers for Zhaoyi. Thus, another four were added from the fu. Ye Li didn't need to look to know what kind of people the other four were. If she hadn't brought it up to the old madame first, she was afraid that by the time she asked for the farmsteads, all eight farmsteads would have been changed.
Early in the morning, Ye Li greeted the Old Madame and went out with Qing Shuang to inspect the shops.
Ye Li rarely walked outside. Almost no one in the capital knew her. After walking around, not only was Qing Shuang angry, even Ye Li, who thought she had a good temperament, was angry. Out of the twelve shops, seven shopkeepers had just taken up their positions two days before the shops were returned to her, so they knew nothing about what had happened in the shops before. There was also a jewelry shop that was full of people coming and going, but the account book was full of losses. As for the two shops that were profitable, the goods were old and the staff were listless. Even the counters were covered with a lot of dust. It would be strange if people patronized them.
"Miss, Madame has gone too far. When we go back, we must tell the old madame and the master! "Qing Shuang said angrily.
"So what if we tell them? Of her two daughters, one is now a Zhaoyi and is about to become an Imperial Concubine. What do you think Father and Grandmother will do to her? "Ye Li looked at Qing Shuang and smiled faintly. Qing Shuang was speechless and indignant, "Are we just going to let it go? Madame clearly wants to humiliate you. What's the difference between having such a shop as a dowry and not having one? "
"Humiliate? It's only if I feel humiliated. If I don't feel humiliated, then it's not humiliated. "
Qing Shuang blinked and looked at her Miss expectantly, "Miss, do you have any ideas?"
Ye Li smiled but did not say anything. She walked around Qing Shuang and went forward. Qing Shuang wrinkled her nose and followed her happily, "Miss, it's the last shop in front of us. It's Shen Dexuan, an antique shop. "
Before entering the shop, Ye Li frowned because of the noise in the shop. The antique shop was not a place where people came and went. It was usually quiet and elegant. The noise in the shop could be heard clearly before people entered it.
As soon as they entered the shop, they saw a dazzling collection of goods in the shop. The shopkeeper, who was dressed in brocade, was looking at a young man in old clothes with contempt. The man looked haggard and sick. His handsome face was sallow and dry. Although his clothes were old, they were very clean. He did not look disgusting. Instead, he had a faint scholarly temperament. At this moment, the man's face was filled with awkwardness and anxiety. He even seemed to be panting uneasily. "Shopkeeper, take a closer look. This painting is really an authentic work of Mr. Wu Zhikai from the previous dynasty. "
The shopkeeper looked at the man with disgust and said, "Look at your poor face. How can you have an authentic work of Wu … Wu Zhikai? This painting is obviously a fake! But we also accept imitations. Since your painting is good, I'll give you 200 taels. "
The man was so angry that his face turned red. "You … you …" Wu Zhikai was a master of the previous dynasty. An authentic work, even if not the best, would cost at least 2,000 taels. If the price was raised, it could be higher. The shopkeeper wanted to buy his family's ancestral treasure at one-tenth of the price. If he did not continue to ask for money, how could he be willing to sell this painting? "How dare you! I'm not selling it! "The man rolled up the painting and was about to leave.
"Wait!" When the shopkeeper saw that the man was about to leave, a trace of viciousness flashed in his eyes. He stared at the man fiercely and said, "I'm giving you 200 taels to give you face! You didn't steal those words, did you? That's right. Look at your poor appearance. How can you have such a famous painting? Let's go to the government. "
"Go to the government then. Do you think I'm afraid of you? How can a shopkeeper like you be so unreasonable when opening a shop! "The man angrily said.
The shopkeeper gave a contemptuous smile, "Reasonable? Do you know who owns this shop? Let me tell you, this is the business of Imperial Concubine Zhao Yi's family. Our manor's Fourth Miss will soon become Princess Li. Do you think the government will believe me or a poor man like you? "
"You …"
"This young master, I'll take your words. Two thousand taels. "Ye Li walked into the shop and softly said.
The two people who were still arguing were stunned. The man reacted and looked at the beautiful and elegant woman in front of him. He could not help saying, "You … Do you believe me?"
Actually, Ye Li might not be able to tell if this painting was real or fake. She could only come to this conclusion from the reactions of the shopkeeper and the man, as well as the guilt that flashed across the face of the appraiser. Moreover, even if this painting was fake, she would still buy it today!
When the shopkeeper saw that his business had been ruined by a little girl, he could not help but become angry. Seeing that Ye Li's clothes were not expensive, he knew that she did not have a good background. He sinisterly said, "Miss, it's best if you don't meddle in other people's business." Ye Li looked at him and said with a faint smile, "This young master is not willing to sell it to you, so I'll sell it now. How can this be meddling in other people's business? "The shopkeeper gave a cold snort and said," Today, you have to buy it even if you don't want to! Our family's Fourth Miss is getting married and is looking for some antique paintings. "
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