There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 346 Preparing the Wedding Dowry

Upon hearing this, Liang Yuying coughed and, after a moment, said, "The carving depicts me taking Shu Chen flying through the air to see the scenery, which is why I need to hold Shu Chen tightly."

Li Shuchen nodded upon hearing this: "I see. Yuying's carving is so lifelike. The appearance and figure are exactly like ours. I will treasure it. Thank you, Yuying."

Upon hearing this, Liang Yuying's lips curled into a smile, secretly delighted.

Li Shuchen: "Just next time Yuying delivers something, she can come during the day; there's no need to visit so late at night."

Liang Yuying only nodded without answering. She was actually a little shy, which was why she chose to come late at night. She thought she could secretly put it away without feeling awkward, but little did she know that Shu Chen was still awake.

"Shu Chen, go to sleep. I'm going back."

Li Shuchen picked up the clothes and the puppet and said, "It's so late, why don't you sleep here? You can go back first thing tomorrow morning."

"Row"

Liang Yuying answered crisply and decisively, and then began to take off her outer garment.

Li Shuchen didn't think much of it and continued putting away the clothes and puppets. She waited until she had finished putting everything away herself.

Liang Yuying was already lying on the bed, and as usual, she made room for her on the inside.

Seeing this, she climbed in herself.

Goodnight, Yuying.

Goodnight, Shuchen. Sweet dreams.

……

The next morning, when Li Shuchen woke up, Liang Yuying was nowhere to be seen. He got up to greet Grape.

"Grape, when did Yuying leave?"

Grape came in and said, "General Liang left at 5 a.m."

Li Shuchen rolled out of bed and stretched: "Being an official is so hard, you have to get up early for the morning court session."

Grape tilted her head, puzzled: "Miss, I didn't see General Liang yesterday. How could he suddenly appear?"

Li Shuchen: "They came in the middle of the night to give me a birthday gift."

Grape: "Oh, General Liang has heavy responsibilities and many military affairs, yet he still thinks of you so late. This shows his deep affection for you."

Li Shuchen nodded: "Yes, I'll make some gifts and send them to them another day. After breakfast, Grape will accompany me to buy dowry items."

Grape nodded vigorously upon hearing this: "Great! Grape loves shopping the most!"

After breakfast

Li Shuchen, with five hundred taels of silver in his pocket, boarded a carriage and, carrying grapes, arrived at the shop where she had bought the house and estate.

The proprietress greeted Li Shuchen warmly as soon as she saw him.

"Miss Li has arrived! Please come in."

As soon as Li Shuchen sat down, tea was served, and she asked, "How is your daughter?"

The proprietress smiled and said, "Thanks to Miss Li, my daughter has long since come to terms with things and is doing just fine. Now she runs her own embroidery shop on West Street."

Li Shuchen took a sip of tea and replied, "Opening your own shop selling embroidery, that's impressive."

The proprietress flicked her handkerchief and said, "Oh dear, it's all thanks to Miss Li's guidance that day, and also thanks to the rich lady's poem, that my daughter wasn't led astray. Miss Li, what would you like to buy? I'll sell it to you cheaply."

Li Shuchen: "I want to buy a tiled house, not too big, just enough for one person to live in."

"Alright, Miss Li, please have a seat for a moment, I'll be right there."

The landlady turned around to look for the property deed.

Li Shuchen slowly sipped his tea.

Grape: "Is Miss going to buy a house for Yu'er?"

Li Shuchen: "Yes, it's good that she has a place of her own. If she suffers any injustice in the future, she'll have somewhere to go. I hope Yu'er will never need to use this place in her entire life."

Grape: "Xiao Feng treats Yu'er very well, he shouldn't let Yu'er suffer any injustice."

Li Shuchen nodded: "I hope so."

"Miss Li, do you like any of these houses?"

The landlady placed about ten property deeds on the table.

Li Shuchen scanned the houses one by one, spotted a well-located, recently completed new house, and pointed it out.

How much silver is needed for this house?

The landlady glanced at the property deed, then leaned close to Li Shuchen's ear and whispered, "This house costs eight hundred taels of silver, but you can give me three hundred taels."

Li Shuchen was taken aback when she heard this. She looked at the proprietress with disbelief. Why would she suddenly get a discount of 500 taels of silver? Was there some kind of scam? Should she buy it?

The landlady noticed Li Shuchen's worry and said, "Don't worry, Miss Li, this house is newly completed. I've checked it; the beams are sturdy, the lighting is good, and there are no problems whatsoever. If there are any issues, I'll compensate you with a new house."

Li Shuchen: "Then why...?"

The proprietress grinned and said, "I did this to thank Miss Li, please don't find it offensive."

Li Shuchen thought for a moment and said, "Then you mustn't go back on your word."

The proprietress quickly waved her hand, "No regrets, no regrets, Miss Li, you can buy it."

Li Shuchen counted out three hundred taels of silver notes and handed them to the proprietress.

After the two finished handing over the paperwork, Li Shuchen put the property deed into his pocket and got up to leave.

The proprietress greeted her warmly, "Miss Li, please take care, and welcome back next time!"

After boarding the carriage, Li Shuchen arrived at Baogui Pavilion. As soon as he stepped off the carriage, he was warmly greeted by Manager Meng.

"Miss Li hasn't visited Baogui Pavilion for quite some time. Is it because I didn't entertain you well last time and offended you, that you're unwilling to come?"

Whenever the princess asks, I don't know how to answer. If I am wrong, I apologize to Miss Li.

Li Shuchen waved her hand and said, "Manager Meng, you're overthinking it. Your service has been very attentive. It's just that your princess gave me too much jewelry, and I couldn't bring it all with me, which is why I didn't come to buy any new jewelry."

Shopkeeper Meng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this: "I see. So, Miss Li, what brings you here today...?"

Li Shuchen: "I want a set of gold headdresses for girls, nothing fancy, just pure gold."

Manager Meng: "Miss Li, please come upstairs and sit for a moment. I will come as soon as I find suitable jewelry."

Li Shuchen nodded, went upstairs, and continued to leisurely enjoy his meal while waiting.

Grape: "Does the young lady prepare such a dowry for every girl in the inn when they get married?"

Li Shuchen laughed and said, "Yes, they work at the inn, and I'm practically their second family, so I should contribute some dowry. If Grape were to get married, I would give even more."

Grape said earnestly, "Grape doesn't want to get married. Grape wants to stay with Miss for the rest of her life."

Li Shuchen: "Once you've found your Mr. Right, let's see if you'll still be able to say that."

Grape: "Hmph, Grape will never find her Mr. Right."

Manager Meng carried the tray upstairs and said, "Miss Li, all the golden noodles in the shop that meet your requirements are here. Please take a look and see if there's anything you like."

Li Shuchen glanced at the three sets of gold jewelry on the plate and chose the middle one, the sunflower design, hoping that Yu'er would always shine as brightly as the sun.

"This set is fine."

Shopkeeper Meng: "Alright, I'll wrap it up for Miss Li now."

Li Shuchen estimated the jewelry to weigh around 300 grams. Adding in the craftsmanship fees, shop fees, labor costs, and all other expenses, he figured 100 taels of silver should be enough to buy it.

She still had one hundred taels of silver left to buy other things.

After a while, Manager Meng handed the packaged jewelry to Li Shuchen and said, "Miss Li, it will cost sixty taels of silver in total."

Upon hearing this, Li Shuchen asked in bewilderment, "Sixty taels of silver? Manager Meng, could you have miscalculated?"