Mysterious Tang Dynasty

Chapter 21 The Night Guest
Li Lijun has almost forgotten that the company left by her grandfather has such an exclusive product as pomegranate red.

Zhao Chenji is currently mainly engaged in the cloth business inside and outside Chang'an City, and has his own silk weaving workshop and dyeing workshop.The fabrics they produce are of good quality, but not top-notch.Not to mention the vastness of the world, there are also many famous weaving workshops in central Shu and Jiangnan. In Chang'an City alone, there are three or four of them whose products are not inferior to those of their peers.It's just because the dye of pomegranate red is so beautiful that no other family can dye it, and because of the relationship between the Sui Palace and the young Gao Lishi, the pomegranate red silk was sent to the palace as a tribute, so I don't worry that it will be snatched by the powerful. Only then can Chen Ji gain a firm foothold in the top business district of Chang'an City.

Li Lijun still remembers what Zhao Chenjiran's pomegranate red silk and pomegranate red silk looked like.Every year, her mother, Mrs. Chen, uses different materials of this color to make new clothes for the mother and daughter for the four seasons.It was a very bright and bright red, more orange than Zhenghong, just like the petals of pomegranates in May, as gorgeous as a ball of fire.Among the women in Chang'an, from girls to middle-aged women, there are very few who do not love this color.

Zhao Chenji has been selling pomegranate red clothing in Chang'an City for over ten years.When Mrs. Chen married into the Sui Palace, her mother's business already had this product.It is said that when Empress Zhenshun was alive, she was very fond of the pomegranate red silk that Zhao Chenji paid tribute to. She used this material to make luxurious clothes and attended three large palace banquets.Zhao Chenji advertised this incident for a long time.

However, Empress Zhenshun passed away many years ago, and the subsequent endorsers for Zhao Chenji's products were mainly the heir concubine Chen of the Sui Palace and several concubines, county concubines and noble lords who had good friends. Although the effect was not as sensational as before, it was still influential. Well enough.Driven by the pomegranate red fabric, Zhao Chenji also sold fabrics of other colors and patterns, and the business spread throughout Gyeonggi-do.In the first ten years, he could earn more than [-] guan every year.

Until the death of Li Lijun's grandfather, Chen Weng, the only daughter, Chen, had to focus on the Sui Palace as the heir concubine. The business could only be managed by shopkeepers. It was not as prosperous as before, and the annual income just dropped a little.

But even so, the Chen family can get an average of [-] to [-] yuan in profit from Zhao Chenji every year.This is a lot of money, and it is available every year.Relying on this money, Mrs. Chen not only lived well, but also nourished the entire Sui Palace.No matter how dissatisfied the heir Li Dai was with this not-prominent-born xuxian, he had to give her enough respect in front of outsiders just because of the financial support that the Chen family could provide him.

Li Lijun wanted to understand the importance of the secret recipe of "pomegranate red" dye to Zhao Chenji, so he naturally understood that Madam Cui's concerns were very reasonable.

But her current situation doesn't really look like she can keep all the skilled craftsmen under Zhao Chenji's command.After the grandfather Chen Weng passed away, the shopkeepers and craftsmen under the company's management had already had a lot of popular feelings. It was only because of the noble status of the Chen family that they gave up the idea of ​​finding another job.Now that the Chen family has passed away, the only heir, Li Lijun, is still young, and it doesn't look like someone capable of taking over the business from the Chen family. Those who put their money into Zhao Chenji's work for profit or future will definitely leave again of.

If Xiao Yang, who was the concubine of the heir of the Sui Dynasty, wanted to intervene, it would be logical for those who were not loyal to Chen's mother and daughter to join the Yang family in order to continue to cling to the powerful.

However, once the craftsman who knew the secret recipe of pomegranate dye left, Zhao Chenji's exclusive advantage would no longer exist.Without exclusive products, the departure of a large number of skilled artisans may also lead to a decline in product quality.No matter how you look at it, Zhao Chenji is about to decline.

Li Lijun knew that he had to find a way to solve this problem.

She is not obsessed with money, and there are many ways in her mind to make money for herself.But Zhao Chenji has a different meaning to these people left behind by the Chen family.This is the property that the grandfather of the Chen family started from scratch and worked hard alone, and it is also the brainchild of many people who follow him for many years.

It is also connected with another important person—the little Gao Lishi in the palace. He is the adopted son of Gao Lishi, the confidant of the saint, and the eldest son of Chen Weng's former partner. His real name is Zhao Dalang, which is "Zhao Chenji" "The word "Zhao" in the middle.

He encountered great changes when he was young. After his father moved to Chang'an from Wuxing, his father suddenly died of a sudden illness. Some officials tried to seize the property. It was Chen Weng who rushed from Wuxing to Chang'an with illness and saved the lives of his mother and younger siblings, but he himself had been purged. enter the palace.When he was away from home, Chen Weng helped him take care of his sick widowed mother and young siblings, and managed money and contacts, helping him to climb the ranks of Gao Lishi and gain a firm foothold in the palace.

His widowed mother passed away a few years ago, and his siblings are now living a stable life, happily married, with both children. They live in Xianyang on weekdays and come to Beijing to see him several times a year.Chen Weng and Mrs. Chen would distribute a quarterly dividend from the store's profits to ensure that they lived well. They also bought a house for young Gao Lishi in Yishanfang, where many housekeepers bought houses.Therefore, little Gao Lishi always keeps in mind the kindness of the Chen family, and maintains a friendly relationship with his family. Whenever there is an opportunity, he will always find a way to repay him.

Li Yanjun wanted Li Lijun to speak in front of young Gaolishi, and persuaded the latter to speak to the emperor and help Xiao Yang's family, and it was also because of the deep friendship between young Gaolishi and the Chen family.

Once Zhao Chenji changes, Li Lijun will not be able to use its name to continue to maintain the original relationship with Xiao Gaolishi and the Zhao family.And little Gao Lishi himself also needs to use the name of "repaying favor" to maintain friendship with the mother and daughter of the Chen family in the Sui Palace, otherwise, in the eyes of the saint, some of his actions will be suspected of fornicating the clan.

Li Lijun felt that he had to keep Zhao Chenji, so what method should he use?

Is it to prohibit the artisans who know the secret recipe from leaving, or to find other exclusive secret recipes so that Zhao Chenji can maintain its market competitiveness?

Or... find another reliable backer for it, so that Xiao Yang, who wants to play tricks behind his back, won't dare to make mistakes?

Li Lijun was thinking hard when she heard the system beep and report: "The drone has arrived at the predetermined location." Sui Wangfu East Road West Courtyard - Xiao Yang's yard.

She hurriedly ordered the drone to carefully fly close to the main house along the dimly lit corner, crossed the roof, and slowly descended outside the bedroom window on the other side, drawing an arc, and quietly disappeared under the wide eaves.

Because of the angle, the drone failed to capture the full view of the bedroom.Li Lijun only saw Xiao Yang changed into a homely dress, sitting at the table with an angry face, and the maids around her came and went, but there was no sign of the two confidantes, Nanny Ma and Madam Ma.

After a while, a maid came to her ear and said something, and she was shocked immediately: "Come in, please!" Then she ordered the left and right to guard the door, and if the heir king came, she would be notified immediately.

The maids backed away quickly, and Xiao Yang stood up with a look of expectation on her face, facing the direction of the door.

Li Lijun was puzzled, this person should not be the heir king Li Dai, who could it be?How could Xiao Yang be so polite... But it's so late now, it's past the second watch, will there be any guests?It should be someone who lives in Sui Palace, right?And it lives in the inner house...

Li Lijun was still wondering who this person could be, so he heard a male voice coming from the room: "Why are you looking for me so urgently at night? You are not afraid to let the king know!"

Li Lijun was shocked.The person Xiao Yang invited to meet her in her bedroom late at night was actually a man? !Or a man other than her husband Li Dai!

Who will this person be? !
(End of this chapter)