bayedsolid Chapter 405 No. 1 Dongfeng Lane
Chapter 405 No. 1 Dongfeng Lane
Yunyi had no idea about the mess in the palace. After she angered Fang Yunduo and drove her away, she cast a divination to calculate the opening date of her soon-to-open Fengyun Yayuan.
Three dates were calculated, and the closest one was chosen, which is the 17th of next month, or June 17th, which is less than a month away.
"Aunt Sangye." Yunyi handed over all the information about Fengyun Yayuan. "This is all the information about the people at Fengyun Yayuan, which is about to open. It used to be Yiqinglou in Longxi, but now I'm going to turn it into a song and dance entertainment venue. Both men and women can come in to have a drink or a cup of tea, listen to songs, watch dances, and listen to stories. There's no need for girls to sleep with you anymore. Now, I'm handing this place over to you to manage. Any problems?"
Sang Ye's eyes lit up, and she took it and looked it over: "Miss, no problem."
"Alright, after lunch I'll take you there to take a look. From now on you can just work with Hua Niang." Yun Yi was relieved. Sang Ye was very good at running a business. She had managed several of Qi Miao'er's shops before, but unfortunately, Fang Tang took them all away later.
“Okay.” Sang Ye nodded vigorously. Her needlework was not as good as Lingzhi’s, her kung fu was not as good as Banxia’s, and her medical skills were not as good as Lianqiao’s. She just liked making money. Unfortunately, all the wealth she had accumulated before was taken away by the Earl’s Mansion, so that the young lady did not have much property when she returned.
Since the young lady wants to run a business, she will definitely manage it well and make a lot of money for her so that she can buy whatever she wants.
In this way, we can do justice to his wife's spirit in heaven.
Yunyi glanced at Sangye, whose face was full of excitement, and her lips twitched. She was certain that this was a woman who liked to make money.
In the heart of the capital, near the imperial palace, there is a low mountain, and at its foot lies a lake formed by the moat that flows into the city.
The mountain has peach, maple, and plum trees, the lake has large lotus flowers, and the shore has groves of green bamboo. Therefore, there are different scenes in all four seasons, which are very beautiful and pleasant. Thus, the mountain was named Jingshan and the lake was named Jinghu.
The large area of buildings on the west side of Jinghu Lake is called Chunfengli, which was also a street of brothels in Beijing.
Of course, this is a high-end place, frequented by literati, officials, and dignitaries, and the girls here are all talented and beautiful, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
The area north of Jinghu Lake is called Dongfengli, where many teahouses and bookstores are concentrated. Although it faces Chunfengli from afar, this area has a very strong cultural atmosphere.
Qingfeng Teahouse and Wenxiang Teahouse are both located here.
Yunyi's Fengyun Elegant Garden also opened in Dongfengli.
When the Shen brothers, Shen Long and Shen Hu, came to the capital, she gave them several tasks, one of which was to notify her if they saw any suitable courtyards or shops.
So the two of them spent their spare time looking at a lot of houses and shops, and bought the ones that were suitable.
The courtyard in Dongfeng Lane was a complete bargain. It was originally the property of the Liu family, the Duke of Dingguo, and was used to run a teahouse. However, due to poor management and the death of someone there, it was closed down.
The Duke of Dingguo's mansion has fallen into decline. In the past two years, it has been relying on Taotielou, the dowry shop of the Duchess Li, for subsidies. However, the seventh daughter of a concubine, Liu Lingling, has been designated as the concubine of the Third Prince. Her dowry cannot be too meager, but Li refuses to give it. So, there is no other way but to sell some of the properties.
Among them is the courtyard at No. 1 Dongfeng Lane.
This courtyard is not only in a good location, but also occupies a large area. It looks just like a traditional courtyard house, with houses on all four sides and a central courtyard. However, the houses on three sides of this courtyard are two-story buildings, while only one side is a single-story building. The total area is close to 2,000 square meters.
However, because someone died here, supposedly a hanged ghost, the price just can't be raised.
In the end, Yunyi bought it for 20,000 taels of silver.
This place would be roughly within the Second Ring Road in later generations. Buying such a large house at this price is practically like getting it for free.
When she decided to move Yiqinglou to the capital, she considered several locations and found that this place in Dongfengli was the most suitable.
As for the deaths and ghost stories, none of that mattered to Yunyi.
Hua Niang and the others had just arrived and didn't know that someone had died or that the building was haunted, so they were quite happy for the first two days. But after all, nothing stays hidden forever.
Today, the elderly couple who were in charge of going out to buy supplies rushed back in a hurry.
This couple has been with Hua Niang for over ten years. They are of good character and hardworking. This is the first time I've seen them so flustered.
"Old Gu, what are you doing?" Hua Niang frowned. "It's almost noon. Have you bought all the ingredients I asked you to?"
"Hua Niang." The old woman grabbed Hua Niang's hand. "I have something to tell you." She glanced at her husband as she spoke.
"Speak," said the flower maid, frowning.
The old woman leaned closer and lowered her voice: "We went out to buy things just now and we heard some news. It's said that... it's said that someone died in this Dongfeng River and it's haunted."
"Huh?" Hua Niang's eyes widened. "Really?"
“We were worried that we might have misheard, so we asked a few more people, and even asked the waiter at the teahouse next door. They said that a woman hanged herself here three years ago, and it drove one person crazy. After that, we often heard people crying here in the middle of the night, and some people even saw a white figure wandering around in this building.”
Hua Niang got goosebumps all over her body when she heard this: "Don't talk nonsense, it's scary." She rubbed her arm as she spoke.
"Mom." Just then, Bitao walked over angrily, holding a box of perfume. "I knew Xiangrui was being naughty! Look, I just opened this perfume today, used a little bit, and then I went to dance practice. When I came back, there was only half a box left. Xiangrui was in the room during that time."
“Mom, I didn’t touch it.” Xiangrui followed along. “I was just saying that Bitao wasn’t clean. Look, I just opened the hair oil yesterday, but now there’s only half a bottle left.”
After this trip, for the time being, two people will share a room. Since we don't need to entertain guests anymore, there's no inconvenience, and two people can look after each other.
Bitao and Xiangrui were both skilled dancers, so they naturally ended up living together.
Hua Niang and the old woman exchanged a glance, and then their eyes widened instantly.
"Flower Girl, could it really be true?" The old woman trembled all over.
"It should...it should be a coincidence, right?" Hua Niang swallowed, still reluctant to admit it.
“But what about them…” the old woman pointed to the perfume and hair oil, “how do you explain their things?”
"Mom, Granny, what are you talking about?" Bitao and Xiangrui were completely confused. "Has something happened?"