“Alright, leave it to me! I guarantee you won’t suffer any losses! You’re going out, so be careful. Take this—if you ever need money, just bring this to any Su Family gold shop, and you can exchange it for silver.”

As Su Qianjin spoke, he took out a jade pendant and handed it to Lin Yuxin.

Though he didn’t know what Lin Yuxin was planning to do, having more money always made things easier.

“Uncle Jin, I appreciate your kindness, but I can’t accept this. I have money, so don’t worry!”

Lin Yuxin was flustered when she saw Su Qianjin take out such a valuable item.

She couldn’t accept it without reason!

Even though she and Su Qianjin were business partners, she couldn’t just take something so valuable as if it were a given.

“Yuxin, I truly see you as a friend. Since we are partners, I will definitely help you when you’re in trouble. Just take this as a precaution. It will make me feel at ease.”

Su Qianjin tried hard to persuade her.

Giving her the jade pendant wasn’t just because of their partnership—it was also because Lin Yuxin had helped solve a major problem for him, allowing him to survive.

The poison in his body was now being treated by a physician.

In a way, Lin Yuxin had saved his life, so this jade pendant rightfully belonged to her.

But he couldn’t say these things outright, so he had to come up with another excuse.

“Alright then! I’ll hold onto it for now and return it when I come back, Uncle Jin.”

Seeing Su Qianjin’s insistence, Lin Yuxin had no choice but to accept it for the time being to ease his mind.

However, she didn’t think she would need it—she had more gold and silver stored in her space than she could ever spend.

“Good! We’ll talk about it when you return! Haha!”

Su Qianjin didn’t mind; as long as she accepted it, that was enough for him.

After bidding farewell to Su Qianjin, Lin Yuxin headed toward her second brother’s shop.

Her second brother had shops in all four major districts of the capital, and even throughout the entire Xia Kingdom.

Because he was a royal merchant, his businesses were quite large.

…

Lin Yuxin stood outside a shop called Baixiang Pavilion for a while, watching as only a few customers entered to make purchases.

She frowned.

Was her second brother planning to give up his royal merchant title so easily?

Sigh!

[So this is why her second brother was always broke. With business like this, how did the emperor still trust him? But then again, it wasn’t entirely his fault. In the novel, he had a short life expectancy, so whether his business thrived or not didn’t really matter.]

Lin Yuxin sighed but still stepped into the shop.

As soon as she did, she saw her second brother walking toward her.

“Sister, what brings you here? Come, let me show you around my shop!”

Lin Shaoyang had heard her inner thoughts and knew she had arrived.

He hurried out to greet her.

Although her thoughts hadn’t been very flattering, it didn’t stop him from doting on his little sister.

“Second Brother, how is your shop managing to stay open despite being this empty?”

Lin Yuxin looked at Lin Shaoyang and couldn’t help but ask.

“Ah! Business was good before, but then a shop called Moxiang Pavilion opened across the street. They introduced a special type of fragrant balm that became wildly popular, and it instantly drew away all our customers. If I didn’t have other businesses to support this one, this shop would have shut down by now.”

Lin Shaoyang sighed helplessly.

The competition had come in strong, launching a new product that stole all their customers.

To make matters worse, many of their perfumers had been poached by the rival shop.

It was ruthless! But that was the reality of business—if you weren’t strong enough, you’d get pushed out.

“How long have they been open?”

Lin Yuxin frowned and asked.

“A little over half a month. Oh, right, they opened shortly after you returned from Bailin Temple.”

Lin Shaoyang thought for a moment and answered.

[Half a month ago? After she came back from Bailin Temple? Moxiang Pavilion… Moxiang Pavilion! Right, this shop appeared suddenly in the novel too—but only after her second brother died.]

[This time, they showed up earlier. But their goal must be the same—to take over all of her second brother’s businesses and replace him as the royal merchant. Looks like they came prepared!]

Lin Yuxin’s expression turned serious as she analyzed the situation.

She felt that the most urgent task now was to revive the business—other matters could be dealt with later.

Hearing Lin Yuxin’s thoughts, Lin Shaoyang’s expression also darkened, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

He hadn’t expected someone to interfere in his business.

Well, they shouldn’t blame him for cutting them down!

“Let’s go, Second Brother. We need to discuss our business strategy!”

Lin Yuxin called out to him and walked toward the shop’s interior.

“Yes! Come, let’s sit down and talk!”

Lin Shaoyang withdrew his sharp gaze and returned to his usual bright, cheerful demeanor.

[Hmm? Did she see wrong? Why did it feel like her second brother was exuding a dangerous aura just now? Could he have a secret of his own?]

Following Lin Shaoyang, Lin Yuxin stared at his back, filled with doubt.

That murderous intent in his eyes just now—she couldn’t have imagined it.

Either he was hiding something, or he was much more capable than he appeared.

Meanwhile, walking ahead, Lin Shaoyang almost tripped when he heard his sister’s inner thoughts exposing his secret.

Thankfully, he managed to steady himself.

He forced himself to stay calm and kept walking forward. His little sister was way too sharp—if he didn’t guard his secrets well, she’d definitely uncover them sooner or later.

Baixiang Pavilion had three floors.

The first floor sold general perfumes and fragrant balms, the second floor catered to wealthy noblewomen with high-end products, and the third floor was a private space.

Lin Shaoyang hadn’t turned the third floor into a shopping area like the second because he needed a place to discuss business matters privately.

It was Lin Yuxin’s first time here.

There were three rooms on the third floor, and she followed Lin Shaoyang into the leftmost one.

“Sister, have a seat! There are some snacks here if you’re hungry. Do you want some water?”

Lin Shaoyang fussed over her as soon as they entered.

Lin Yuxin gave him a sidelong glance and said calmly, “Second Brother, don’t be so nervous. Everyone has their secrets. Don’t worry, I won’t expose yours. Now, let’s talk business.”

“Hehe! Me? What secret could I possibly have? I was just worried you might be thirsty! Haha, alright, alright, let’s talk business!”

Lin Shaoyang forced a laugh, his tone awkward.

But he quickly dropped the act and got serious.

Lin Yuxin ignored his reaction and took out a box and a stack of papers from her sleeve, handing them to Lin Shaoyang.

“This box contains beauty pills I made—there are ten types, including whitening, acne treatment, and anti-aging. The papers have skincare recipes, including face mask formulas and skincare product methods.”

“I’ll be leaving the capital for a while, so I won’t be able to oversee production myself. I’ll need you to find reliable people to handle it. There are also some business strategies written here for your reference.”

Lin Yuxin explained everything carefully.

Lin Shaoyang listened attentively, his expression growing more serious.

The more he heard, the more excited he became, and his eyes lit up.

“Sister, did you come up with all of this by yourself? You’re a genius!”

“Hehe, not exactly…”

Hearing his praise, Lin Yuxin sheepishly touched her nose.