Beagle Fine, Salt at 1,500

"Your Highness intends to open a Women's Academy? Am I right in guessing so?"

She glanced at him with a sly smile while pondering the board, then placed a stone. "You've lost."

---

Once the kiln's approval came through, Zhou Yao had the vacant land near Nine Kilns cleared. After all this time, the newly built kiln was officially completed.

Nine Kilns' daily operations grew increasingly demanding, and sustaining it long-term wasn't feasible. Zhou Yao planned to add more hands, but given the current situation, she had to set that aside for now.

The trained beagle was officially deployed in the glass delivery duties at Golden Curtain Terrace. With its adorable looks and clever demeanor, the dog quickly won public affection. Some people even waited at their gates before the beagle arrived, just to rub its fluffy head as it passed by.

During this period, the beagle pulling its cart appeared more frequently on the streets of Chang'an, drawing attention from those who had never heard of Golden Curtain Terrace or Fragrant Orchid Pavilion, further expanding their business reach.

"Look, that dog is so cute! It seems really well-behaved—here, here, here."

"Hey, what's that behind it? Why is there something like a little carriage? Is it... carrying goods?" She gestured to her companion.

"Seems so," the other replied. Suddenly, one noticed the carving on the wooden box behind the beagle. She tapped her friend and exclaimed, "Look there! That pattern on the box is the Fragrant Orchid Pavilion logo that's been all the rage in Chang'an lately!"

"Judging by the look, the box probably holds perfume."

"Perfume?! Oh, I know! At the family gathering a while back, my eldest uncle's legitimate daughter used that! A tiny bottle costs a fortune! I'm so envious of those who can afford perfume."

"Using such an adorable method to deliver perfume, no wonder they charge such high prices." With those words, they left.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yao, thanks to the public's love for the beagle, saw the sales of Fragrant Orchid Pavilion and Golden Curtain Terrace skyrocket. Before long, she opened further branches within the city.

Unlike the glass and perfume stores, these two new shops catered to different segments.

The street-side teahouse targeted the common folk of Chang'an, offering cheap loose-leaf tea and coarse salt to sustain itself.

To ensure the common people could enjoy better-quality tea without negatively impacting the small vendors around, who relied on this for their livelihood, she set a rule: during the hottest period at noon each day, premium tea sells at a 30% discount, and plain loose tea is free if you bring your own container.

At the same time, Zhou Yao capitalized on the beagle's popularity from its deliveries to open Doggy Teahouse near Fragrant Orchid Pavilion.

Near the city gates of Chang'an, refugees always begged along the streets—men, women, old, and young, many barely clothed. The treasury had been depleted for years, and with frequent disasters in the surrounding regions, no one cared about their fate.

On her way to the new shop, Zhou Yao noticed their hardship. She sent people to register them one by one, promising them jobs to support themselves.

The strong young men were assigned to work at the new kiln; the nimble-fingered ones were arranged to make perfume powder at Fragrant Orchid Pavilion; and those unable to care for themselves—the elderly and children—were temporarily housed in the street-side teahouse.

One elderly man who could read volunteered to handle the accounts for her, while those who couldn't read offered to help with chores.

In a corner unnoticed by the others, some elderly men with mobility issues and illiteracy watched quietly, lowering their heads in despair.

In their youth, they worked the fields; in old age, they were cast out by their families and became vagrants.

Zhou Yao seemed to notice them, her vows to her father in the palace still fresh in her mind: that the old should be cared for and the young nurtured.

She arranged for the young children to be placed in the academy, which hadn't officially started yet. Using her earlier earnings, she established a care center just outside the city, housing the elderly with mobility issues and assigning staff to look after them.

All expenses for the care center were directly funded by Golden Curtain Terrace. Anyone without a home could apply for lodging there at any time.

Her actions continued for days without pause, and her every move was observed. The next morning at court, someone reported it to the king.

But as Zhou Yao said, everything she did held value. The number of refugees in Chang'an dropped drastically. After she settled them, not a single beggar remained on the streets. The shortage of staff at the new kiln and teahouse was also fully resolved.

Zhou Yao thought she could rest a few days at the Princess Mansion, but unfortunately...

No sooner had she woken from sleep and before she could react, she noticed Ling'er waiting outside the door.

"Why are you here so early today?" Zhou Yao yawned groggily.

"Well..." Ling'er stammered, glancing at Zhou Yao and then at the door. "This morning, someone came to report that the new group from the magistrate's office went to Doggy Teahouse. They said our beagle at Doggy Teahouse is too noisy, disturbing the daily life of nearby residents... and thus, a complaint was filed."

"Those present said that although our delivery dog is cute, the moment it starts pulling the cart, it goes 'werwerwer~' nonstop, and sometimes even barks while running..."

Er...

Embarrassed, Zhou Yao looked away. She could guess the beagle's behavior without Ling'er finishing.

That mischievous dog, even when working, would somehow stir up trouble in a muddle.

"So, Doggy Teahouse was fined half a month's earnings..."

"Half a month's earnings?!" Zhou Yao repeated in shock, murmuring, "That's such a heavy fine..."

Ahhhh! Zhou Yao closed her eyes, trying to calm herself.

Ling'er continued, "Beyond the fine, they also ordered Doggy Teahouse to suspend operations for rectification, followed by a city-wide public notice for six months, condemning this matter..."

!!!

"What did you say?!" Zhou Yao gritted her molars unconsciously. This had come out of nowhere, ruining what had been a good stretch of days.

A city-wide public condemnation... all face was lost.

But what mattered most now was that if they could get the teahouse reprimanded once over the beagle's barking, they could do it again.

"As for Doggy Teahouse," she thought for a moment, "pay the fine and resume business. Negotiate with the households nearby—offer to buy out those willing to move, and for those unwilling or unable to move, pay them hush money."

With such sudden events, it was hard to believe no one was pulling strings behind her back.

"Fine. Since you started it, don't blame me for finishing it. That brother of mine seems to have grown too idle and leisurely these days—the hardship I dealt him earlier wasn't enough." Her eyes darkened, and she gave a cold snort.

"Ling'er, send word to the western salt mines: the stock they've been holding onto can be put up for sale now." She rose from the bed and walked to the desk before the screen. "What's the current market price for salt?"

"Your Highness, with the famine, salt prices are several times that of grain. A dou of salt cost 700 coppers before the new year, but now it's as high as 1,500."

"1,500 coppers? The poor commoners must not be able to afford such expensive salt."

A moment of silence passed in the room, then Zhou Yao curled her lips into a cold smile.

"All those hard-earned pennies of theirs have gone into his pocket... That's rather lopsided. Today, this princess decrees that all that salt be released, sold at 15 coppers a dou."

As if still unsatisfied, Zhou Yao looked up at Ling'er and said with a soft smile, "Ling'er, tomorrow you have the day off. I'll give you some pocket money to go buy some grain—as much as you can."

"Yes."

In the morning, Zhou Yao made her announcement; by noon, the western salt fields released premium salt at an ultra-low price. This sudden low-priced salt caught the Crown Prince and his faction completely off guard, sending the several warehouses of premium salt they'd bought at high prices into massive losses.

By the time word reached Zhou Yao, the streets were already packed with common folk queuing outside the salt shops, waiting to snap up the cheap salt.

Zhou Yao's salt shop was bustling, while the others were as quiet as a deserted temple.

She dared to use this method to harm the Crown Prince because she had calculated correctly that the official salt trade had always been managed by Zhou Yu.

Based on current salt prices, even if the officials embezzled and disasters struck frequently, the treasury shouldn't be this depleted...

Unless those in power were stealing from the state and leading by corrupt example.

Over the following days, anyone who came to her shops—those who couldn't afford food or clothing—Zhou Yao allowed them to work at the salt shops in exchange for clothes and meals.

Perhaps out of compassion, or perhaps because too many of Chang'an's common folk lived in poverty, she took advantage of the beagle fine publicity and posted another notice beside the city-wide reprimand. It read: "All businesses under the Ninth Princess are hiring long-term. Any destitute person may come to work; pay is 300 coppers a day."

Once posted, countless responded.

This solved the staffing shortages at the new kiln, salt shops, salt fields, and teahouses, while also giving the people more ways to survive in this world.

Direct hiring beats buying slaves, doesn't it?

Those slaves in the hands of slavers were often captured from who knows where, mostly women. If women were to fight for their rights, the first step was their right to be treated as human beings.

The Women's Academy was also completed under Zhou Yao's supervision, growing from a handful to over thirty students, and she knew well the hardships involved.

Actually, the very first obstacle was finding teachers.

Except for the children of noble families—who could be educated regardless of gender—those from other households who received an education were all male, hoping to pass the imperial exam.

When the teachers heard that the students would all be women, their reluctance was rooted in disdain, not discretion.

Even educators felt this way; helpless, Zhou Yao had to teach the classes herself.

Finding female students was equally difficult. The older generation held outdated beliefs, always teaching that "a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent," which left these women unable to read even notices posted at the city gates by marriageable age.

Initially, Zhou Yao set up a stall in front of the academy. Whenever she met a young girl, she'd call her over to learn simple characters. For each character they learned, she gave them a candied tangerine peel as a reward. Over time, she gradually gathered a crowd of children around the stall learning to read.

Things were progressing according to her plan until one morning, just as the morning market opened and the steamed bun vendors began hawking their goods.

She set up her stall as usual—silk, brushes, ink, inkstones, and all were neatly arranged on the table.

A man in rough cloth suddenly overturned her stand, his fingernails caked with dirt, pointing straight at Zhou Yao and cursing loudly.

"You witch, stay away from my daughter! Who gave you the right to teach her?"

He was furious, dragging his daughter, who struggled helplessly, and cursed, "If women learn to read, they'll never marry, and when they're laughed at, who's responsible? I don't hit women, so leave now while I'm still in a good mood!"

Zhou Yao's guards saw the danger and immediately drew their swords to block the man. "How dare you! Show respect to the Ninth Princess of the realm!"