Stepping down from the carriage, Ye Yunniang looked up to examine the Baise Fur Shop.

The signboard was identical to the one in Ludou.

“Countess, your gracious presence brings glory to my humble shop!” Baise greeted Ye Yunniang at the door with exaggerated praise.

“We are both mothers now, be a little more serious.” Ye Yunniang patted Baise’s arm.

“Ouch, that hurts.” Baise played it up even more.

This successfully made Ye Yunniang laugh.

Baise laughed along and led Ye Yunniang to a private room on the second floor of the shop to sit down.

The first floor of the Baise Fur Shop was a main hall where furs were openly displayed on counters for people to look at and touch.

The second floor consisted of luxuriously decorated private rooms.

Each room was staffed with two serving girls. Inside the room, there was a sample booklet for distinguished guests to choose what they wanted to see.

The serving girls would then go to the warehouse to fetch the furs for them to examine further.

“You have really done a nice job with this.”

“When it comes to doing business, I, Baise, am never careless,” Baise said proudly.

Ye Yunniang signaled for Qiushuang to place the bundle she was carrying onto the table.

Qiushuang opened it, revealing a tabletop screen ornament.

The screen was embroidered with the pattern “Wealth from All Directions.”

“A grand opening gift.” Ye Yunniang had given birth early. When Baise’s shop opened, neither she nor Jiang Mingzhe had the time to attend.

This gift touched Baise’s heart.

“I will let you off the hook for this.”

“For the sake of your gift, I will tell you some good news.”

“Are you pregnant with your second child?”

“I wish.” Baise rubbed her belly. It had been a year, and there was no reaction at all.

She did not know if it was her problem or Tie Yi’s.

“You have seen many doctors. Introduce me to a couple who specialize in gynecology, especially those who can help someone conceive a daughter.”

Cough, cough, cough…

Ye Yunniang spat out a mouthful of tea.

“Do not curse the doctors.”

If a doctor’s treatment resulted in women only giving birth to girls, that doctor definitely would not stay in business for long.

“Are you going to introduce them to me or not?”

“I know a few doctors who specialize in gynecology and treat infertility. However, you have to promise me one thing. Do not ask the doctor about having a girl the moment you see them.” Ye Yunniang warned Baise, telling her not to ask for a beating.

“Do not worry, I am not that stupid.”

Ye Yunniang mentioned the names of a few doctors.

Baise noted them down and then told Ye Yunniang the good news she had mentioned earlier.

“Tong Mo and Zhong Zhaoli are getting married.”

“Really?” Ye Yunniang was surprised.

“Feeling upset?” Baise asked with an ambiguous expression.

Ye Yunniang’s face fell. “Baise, I do not like it when you repeatedly test me.”

Some things can be tolerated once or twice, but not a third time.

Regarding Tong Mo, Baise had tested Ye Yunniang more than once.

Ye Yunniang had answered more than once that she had absolutely no feelings for Tong Mo.

Ye Yunniang was already married and living very happily now. She also sincerely wished Tong Mo happiness.

Ye Yunniang was surprised because Tong Mo had previously sworn that it was impossible for him and Zhong Zhaoli to be together.

In less than four months, the two were getting married.

It was only human nature for Ye Yunniang to be surprised.

But coming from Baise’s mouth, it sounded as if Ye Yunniang was feeling guilty and regretting her choice of Jiang Mingzhe.

Baise slapped her own mouth. “I misspoke.”

“This is the last time,” Ye Yunniang said, before bidding farewell and leaving. She was in no mood to talk to Baise anymore.

Ye Yunniang left.

Zhong Zhaoli walked out from a hidden door in the private room.

“Miss Zhong, are you satisfied?” Baise asked with a smile.

Zhong Zhaoli smiled in satisfaction. “Not bad. I will take care of the shop next door.”

“Thank you, Miss Zhong.” Baise bowed to express her gratitude.

“No need to thank me. I am doing this for myself too. Forty percent of the shop’s profits will be mine.” After speaking, Zhong Zhaoli pushed open the private room’s door and left.

Neither of them noticed that someone was eavesdropping on the roof.

After listening, Qiushuang left the shop and jumped onto the moving carriage. She told Ye Yunniang what she had overheard.

Ye Yunniang sighed; she was about to lose another friend.

Upon returning home, she ran into Cai Damei, who was just coming back from outside.

Cai Damei could tell at a glance that Ye Yunniang was in a bad mood.

“What is wrong?”

Ye Yunniang recounted her meeting with Baise today.

“Mother, am I just not destined to have friends? One by one, they all…” Ye Yunniang could not continue.

Cai Damei thought back on the friends Ye Yunniang had made. Liang Maimiao and Chunyao had both parted ways with her for various reasons.

“You still have me, your husband, and your children. We are all by your side. As for friends, having them is a blessing in your life, but if you do not, there is no need to force it.”

Ye Yunniang hummed in agreement, noticing a bag in Cai Damei’s hand.

“What are you carrying, Mother?” Ye Yunniang asked, reaching out to take it.

Cai Damei dodged her hand.

“Just some small things I am working on in collaboration with Princess Yanping.” Cai Damei was unwilling to say more.

Ye Yunniang suppressed her curiosity. “If you need me to do anything, Mother, you must tell me.”

“​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‍Alright.”

Jiang Mingzhe soon found out about the conflict between Ye Yunniang and Baise.

“My calculations played a part in this.”

“What did you calculate?”

The fur shop was once a property Jiang Mingzhe had his eye on.

Jiang Mingzhe wanted it because of the two adjacent shops.

To the left of the shop was a Sichuan-Chongqing eatery serving mostly spicy and numbing food. To the right was a shop specializing in various candied fruits.

The eatery’s food was very spicy, and after eating too much spice, people would crave sweet drinks.

Candied fruits were sweet, and eating them would also make people thirsty.

Jiang Mingzhe had planned to buy the middle shop to open a teahouse or a shop selling various beverages.

It would be a win-win situation for everyone.

Baise had been so eager to beat Jiang Mingzhe that she had not thought it through.

Only after opening the shop did she realize how much the neighboring shops affected her furs.

The new shop was in a prime location with high foot traffic.

She could not bear to move.

But if she did not move, her shop would suffer in the long run.

Baise thought about buying the eatery next door to expand.

Upon inquiring, she found out that the actual owner of the shop next door was Duchess Chu Yuling; it was part of her dowry.

Chu Yuling was Zhong Zhaoli’s biological mother.

Baise begged Zhong Zhaoli for help, wanting to buy the shop.

Zhong Zhaoli agreed, on the condition that Baise help her confirm Ye Yunniang’s feelings for Tong Mo.

For the sake of her business, Baise agreed to test Ye Yunniang.

Knowing everything behind this, Ye Yunniang was displeased.

When Baise came to her door, Ye Yunniang’s expression was cold.

“I apologize. I should not have agreed to Zhong Zhaoli’s request to test you just for the sake of business.”

Ye Yunniang could tell that although Baise was apologizing, deep down she felt Ye Yunniang was making a mountain out of a molehill.

“If a bigger business opportunity was placed in front of you, one that could make you the richest person in the capital and completely take down Jiang Mingzhe, but the price was my life and my child’s life…”

“Impossible. I, Baise, have a bottom line. I absolutely will not do things I should not do. Your words are insulting me,” Baise reacted strongly.

“It is impossible if someone asked you to do that right now. But what if it was a step-by-step test?

First, they ask you to test my feelings. Next, they test you by making me drink bitter tea. And then they ask you to cause me some harmless little injuries…”

At this moment, Baise realized that the harm caused by her testing Ye Yunniang was not just superficial.

This test was a compromise of Baise’s bottom line, and it was also the shattering of her friendship with Ye Yunniang.

Baise put away her joking attitude and apologized earnestly.

“Ye Yunniang, I am sorry, I was wrong. I should not have been so presumptuous as to test you.”

“I said that was the last time,” Ye Yunniang reminded Baise again.

“There will not be a next time,” Baise promised. “Last time, I was lying to you. Tong…”

Tong Mo rushed in holding a bawling Cai Shuyi.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep