“You flatter me!”

Boss Yuan waved a hand lightly. “I hear Miss is one of Her Majesty the Empress’s people. May I ask—” Feng Jiu’er took off the token and held it out.

Mr. Yuan took it, examined it carefully for a moment, then handed it back with both hands.

“My apologies for the discourtesy.”

“It’s fine.”

Feng Jiu’er took the token back and fastened it at her waist again.

“I hear the officials in Xixi City, big and small, are quite… corrupt. Is that so?”

“Mm.”

Mr. Yuan made no attempt to hide it, nodding lightly.

“What would Miss like to know about the shop? I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Nothing much — Her Majesty gave an order, so I came.”

Feng Jiu’er picked up her teacup.

“Boss Yuan, did you go to the city lord’s home today?”

“Mm.”

Mr. Yuan nodded lightly. “Yes, I went there.”

“When the notice went out that the gates were sealed, I happened to be at our shop in Ande Town.”

“There’s a lot of traffic between our various cities — the gate closures have had quite an impact.”

“By the way.” Mr. Yuan looked at Feng Jiu’er. “I hear you plan to leave the city — where are you headed?”

“Next, I intend to go to Luoyang City.”

Feng Jiu’er raised her cup and took a sip of tea.

She set it down and looked up. “My plan is to go southeast first, then southwest.”

“Her Majesty gave no specific requirements — this is just my brothers’ and my current plan for now.”

“By the way.” Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and leaned in slightly. “The Empress has returned to Fengxi Kingdom. Have you received word?”

“I don’t even know where she is by now.”

“For now, no word yet.”

“Mm.”

Mr. Yuan nodded lightly. “I also received word that Her Majesty has returned to her country, but I don’t know where she currently is either.”

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and lifted her teacup again.

She only wanted people to know that she and the Empress were genuinely close, so she made a bit of small talk about it.

“Boss Yuan, what did the city lord say — will he open a back door for you all?”

“A back door?”

Mr. Yuan frowned.

“She means, will the city lord open the city gates for Fenglan Inn,” Qiao Mu explained.

“Mm.”

Feng Jiu’er nodded and took a small sip of tea.

“For outsiders like us, it should be quite hard to leave the city now, so I’ll have to trouble you all.”

“If the gates don’t open anytime soon, I don’t know when I’ll be able to finish my task — Her Majesty is waiting for my report.”

“By the time she returns, if I’m still stuck in the same spot, that would be quite embarrassing.”

“I’ve already negotiated with the city lord. For now, we truly cannot leave.”

Mr. Yuan replied.

Feng Jiu’er frowned, looking regretful.

“What can we do then? I can’t just keep freeloading off you here, can I?”

Mr. Yuan smiled slightly. “Food and lodging aren’t a problem.”

“You’re Her Majesty’s close attendant, and also our mistress. You can make the decisions for the shop.”

“Can I really decide anything?”

Feng Jiu’er raised her eyebrows.

“Of course.”

Mr. Yuan nodded in reply.

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and said, “How many shops do we have altogether in Xixi City?”

“Nine in total.”

Mr. Yuan replied.

“And the annual profit?”

Feng Jiu’er’s brow lifted slightly.

Mr. Yuan, as if he’d already known she would ask, drew a sheet of paper from his waist and held it out.

“Miss, this is the earnings record for our shops in Xixi City over the past few years, along with a detailed breakdown of the last half year.”

Feng Jiu’er took the paper without ceremony and laid it on the table.

Qiao Mu leaned in as well.

“The profits are quite substantial.”

After a moment, Qiao Mu remarked, impressed.

“Fenglan Inn has been running in the Feng Clan for nearly thirty years now — it started after Her Majesty married into the Feng Clan.”

Mr. Yuan said.

“A full thirty years, expanding from the capital to every city across the Feng Clan. You could say that north of the Songjiang River, there’s no one in the Feng Clan who doesn’t know Fenglan Inn.”

“We’ve always held to the principle of treating people courteously, cheating no one — not even a child — and setting fair, transparent prices. In the Feng Clan, we’re deeply trusted.”

“So business has always stayed quite stable.”

“This isn’t just ‘stable,’ is it?”

Qiao Mu shook her head. “This is a wealthy inn chain!”

“It really is quite impressive!”

Feng Jiu’er looked at the figures on the page, her eyes gleaming.

If her own medicine shop could ever reach this kind of scale, she’d be overjoyed! After indulging in the fantasy for a moment, Feng Jiu’er took a deep breath and looked up at Mr. Yuan.

“Boss Yuan, I have a small suggestion.”

“Please, go ahead.”

Mr. Yuan gestured for her to continue.

“Today I saw quite a few poor people whose lives will be badly affected by the city lockdown. I wanted to ask if there’s anything we can do to help.”

Feng Jiu’er said.

“Some carried handicrafts, some carried medicinal herbs, some carried a couple of chickens or eggs — all hoping to leave the city and trade them for money.”

“If they can’t get that money, some of them will have trouble even putting a meal on the table today.”

“That kind of situation does exist.”

Mr. Yuan nodded slightly.

“To be honest, the corruption in Xixi City may be even worse than what Miss has seen.”

“Our Fenglan Inn distributes grain twice a month, giving out rice, flour, and so on to the poor.”

“However, this month’s grain-distribution funds have already been used, and the grain has all been given out.”

Mr. Yuan pulled at the paper, pointing his long finger at a spot on it.

“This is our monthly grain-distribution fund.”

“Every single month?”

Qiao Mu asked.

“Mm.”

Mr. Yuan nodded. “This is how things are in Xixi City. Other cities may not be the same.”

“For example, nearby Luoyang City — the people there seem to live better than those in Xixi City.”

“That’s also why people in Xixi City often want to carry their goods to Luoyang City to sell.”

“Prices are higher there, and with Luoyang City’s greater demand, it’s easier for them to sell their goods.”

“As far as I know, the Fenglan Inn in Xiyuan City also has this monthly grain-distribution practice, but Luoyang City does not.”

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together, seeming to have learned something.

No wonder Fenglan Inn’s business was so good — they truly did things many others couldn’t manage.

“If the lockdown continues and some of the people really can’t put food on the table, could we arrange a second grain distribution this month?”

“Is that what Miss is referring to?”

Mr. Yuan asked.

“Mm.”

Feng Jiu’er nodded.

They were all flesh and blood, struggling to survive — seeing them suffer didn’t sit well with her.

And besides, the one who had actually caused this lockdown was, in truth, herself.

“There are two ways to handle this.”

Mr. Yuan said quietly.

“One is for Miss to give the order directly. The other is for me to discuss it with my two colleagues, and possibly even request approval from above.”

Feng Jiu’er nodded. “Let’s first see whether it can be resolved alongside the lockdown issue. If it won’t hurt business much, just give the order directly.”

“Yes.”

Mr. Yuan bowed to accept the instruction.

“I’ll keep looking into this matter — please give me a little more time, Miss.”