LFHYB – Chapter 6 Courting Elder Sister Is So Easy

After frightening the manager and even making him say thank you, Li Xuanba and Li Shimin continued questioning him about the shop’s specific situation.

Li Xuanba spoke in his mind, while Li Shimin acted as the external “voice.”

Although Li Shimin hid it well, Li Sanniang—who was very familiar with the two brothers—could tell from the resentful glances Li Shimin cast at Li Xuanba from time to time that Third Brother was slacking off again.

Only she and Mother knew the secret of Second and Third. Others only knew that the twin brothers shared a kind of telepathy; as for how deep that connection went, they had no idea.

At most, they could vaguely sense each other’s emotions, right?

Although Second and Third didn’t really hide it at home, if they didn’t explain it themselves, outsiders wouldn’t be able to guess the truth—even if they kept hearing Second Brother shout “Little brother is talking,” they would only think that Third Brother simply didn’t like to speak.

Lady Dou had instructed Li Sanniang not to speak too much about Second and Third outside.

Lady Dou was different from Li Yuan.

Because Li Yuan was Yang Guang’s maternal cousin, he trusted Yang Guang greatly.

Even though Li Yuan’s fourth uncle, Li Zhang, once raised troops and was killed when Sui Emperor Wen, Yang Jian, attempted to usurp the throne, Yang Jian—out of regard for Empress Dugu—did not implicate Li Yuan’s branch of the family and was in fact very fond of Li Yuan.

Li Yuan did not take part in the struggle among Emperor Wen’s sons for the succession in the emperor’s later years. Before Emperor Wen’s death, Li Yuan maintained harmonious relations with all of the emperor’s sons, and thus believed that he and his cousin Yang Guang were on good terms.

Lady Dou, however, had always been wary of the Yang family because Yang Jian had killed all the direct male members of her maternal uncle’s family, and even the Northern Zhou’s Emperor Jing—who had abdicated—was brutally murdered.

The stark contrast in Yang Guang’s temperament and conduct before and after he became crown prince further convinced Lady Dou that, compared with Yang Jian, Yang Guang was even more difficult to get along with.

Lady Dou once advised Li Yuan: “Your fondness for fine hawks and prized horses is well known. Such things are suitable to be offered up, but cannot be kept for long. If people speak of it, it will surely bring trouble upon you. I hope you will think it through carefully.”

Li Yuan did not listen.

Only after Lady Dou had died, and Li Yuan was suppressed by Yang Guang, did he recall her words. He then presented the hawks and hounds he had once been reluctant to part with to Yang Guang, and was soon appointed a general. It was only then that Li Yuan began to miss Lady Dou, weeping as he told his sons, “Had I followed your mother’s advice earlier, I would have held this post long ago.”

Now, Li Yuan still firmly believed himself to be in his cousin Yang Guang’s favor, and scoffed at Lady Dou’s veiled warnings. Left with no other choice, Lady Dou could only quietly make her own plans.

Li Sanniang closely resembled Lady Dou before her marriage. Though only fourteen, she already had a well-formed mind and deep considerations.

The Chai family was also a great aristocratic house, and Chai Shao was extremely close to the current crown prince, Yang Zhao.

Crown Prince Yang Zhao had an elegant and cautious disposition, and was deeply loved by Emperor Wen of Sui and Empress Dugu. From the moment Yang Zhao was born, he had been raised at their knees.

It could be said that Yang Guang’s eventual appointment as crown prince was, to some extent, related to Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu’s fondness for Yang Zhao.

After Yang Guang ascended the throne, rumors spread that he had murdered his father.

Yang Zhao shared a deep bond with his grandfather Yang Jian, and Lady Dou firmly believed that Yang Guang was narrow-minded. Yang Zhao enjoyed an excellent reputation both at court and among the people. Even Yang Jian—who had always maintained the appearance of a wise ruler—became suspicious and paranoid in his later years. In the future, Yang Guang and Crown Prince Yang Zhao were bound to come into conflict, and the Chai family would certainly be implicated.

Thus, after Li Sanniang was betrothed to Chai Shao at the age of twelve, Lady Dou continually reminded and instructed her.

To outsiders, the auspicious twin birth of Li Shimin and Li Xuanba did not seem like much—merely a case of “many sons, much blessing.” The idea that twins share a spiritual connection had been recorded since ancient times and was nothing particularly extraordinary.

But who could say whether Yang Guang might not suddenly grow suspicious on a whim?

Even if a pair of twins with a mysterious connection was not enough to alarm Yang Guang about the Duke of Tang’s household—what if the crown prince were added to the equation?

Chai Shao was as close to Crown Prince Yang Zhao as brothers. Li Sanniang was Chai Shao’s wife. Li Sanniang had two auspicious twin younger brothers, and those twins were also sons of the Duke of Tang’s household.

Would Yang Guang suspect that the Duke of Tang’s household was using these auspicious twins to build momentum for the crown prince?

If Li Yuan heard such suspicions from Lady Dou, he would surely scoff at them. But Li Sanniang firmly trusted her mother’s judgment, and thus never mentioned to outsiders the true strangeness of her two younger brothers.

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba also never took the initiative to speak of their own abilities. It was only because Lady Dou and Li Sanniang spent so much time with them that they gradually perceived it themselves.

Even so, Li Sanniang always felt that it was not that they had discovered it on their own, but that the two younger brothers had deliberately revealed it to them.

Li Sanniang often told her mother, Lady Dou, that those two brothers were sly little devils, and she truly did not know how, at such a young age, they could already harbor so many schemes.

Li Xuanba once again slacked off, letting his second brother act as his external “voice,” instructing the shop manager to make some minor adjustments to the store’s operating strategies.

Having just taken over the shop, Li Xuanba did not implement many changes.

Doing business, like governing a state, does not fear following established rules—it fears radical aggression.

Little did one know that many large enterprises had once been thriving, only to be ruined overnight when a second-generation heir took over and carried out sweeping reforms, instantly bankrupting businesses worth tens of billions.

There was a joke in the capital world: “Not afraid of a second generation squandering wealth—only afraid of a second generation starting a business.”

Li Xuanba taught the shop manager to keep accounts using tabulated ledgers, adding numerical symbols and capitalized numbers, and replaced under-the-table kickbacks with overt commissions.

Although this could not entirely eliminate kickbacks, once the manager had commissions to earn, he would pay closer attention to sales.

After giving the manager a scare, he dared not take kickbacks for a short period. This time served as a buffer during which Li Xuanba and Li Shimin could win the manager over as one of their own.

Only after the manager truly became theirs would Li Xuanba gradually intervene in merchandise sales.

Apart from promoting tabulated bookkeeping, Li Xuanba added only one new element to operations: a “customer satisfaction rating.”

Most business in the Eastern Market catered to officials and nobles, and nearly every transaction could be traced back to a specific aristocratic household. After closing a deal, Li Xuanba had the manager present small gifts and ask customers to rate their satisfaction with the service, while also collecting their preferences. If the rating was too low, part of the manager’s commission would be deducted.

These measures would prepare the groundwork for Li Xuanba to implement a membership system.

Since they were doing luxury business for the elite, how could there be no limited-access membership system?

The manager had already realized how formidable tabulated bookkeeping was.

Though it exposed his own greed, he still had clerks under him—and he also had to guard against their greed. While he himself dared not reach out for profit for the time being, he was happy to change the bookkeeping method so that his subordinates would also not dare to do so.

As for tracking service satisfaction, the manager did not take it seriously.

This was the Eastern Market of Daxing City—drop a bamboo pole and it could hit several princes or nobles. Who would dare treat customers poorly?

Asking about customer preferences was something the manager had always done anyway.

If he did not do so, how would he know what goods to stock next?

Although one could judge preferences by sales volume, that would make merchandise adjustments lag behind by a step. In business, being one step slow means being slow at every step.

After all, Lady Dou was a remarkable woman who could even anticipate the emperor’s actions. Naturally, when doing business, she never forgot to make forecasts. When she ran this shop, she had already instilled good habits in the manager.

Neither the manager nor Chai Shao heard the ambition behind the subtle adjustments to shop operations in Li Shimin’s words.

Li Sanniang did.

Her eyes flickered slightly, but she suppressed the urge to ask questions.

Although her second and third brothers were close to her, she would be married off in the future—better not to pry too much.

Li Xuanba noticed Third Lady Li’s expression.

He set down his teacup and reached a hand toward her, looking tired.

Third Lady Li pulled Li Xuanba into her arms and gently patted him. “Want to take a nap for a bit?”

Lowering his voice, Li Xuanba said, “After we finish visiting the West Market, my brother and I have something important to discuss with you. Sister, remember to send Brother Chai away for a while.”

She lowered her voice as well. “Why not just have him leave directly?”

Li Xuanba replied, “With him around, others won’t suspect that we siblings are discussing serious matters.”

Third Lady Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Was this little brother being overly cautious? It was just two shops—was it really that serious?

But since her brother said so, she nodded and agreed.

It was rare for her third brother to make a request. As his elder sister, she couldn’t say no!

Li Shimin had talked until his mouth was dry. When he turned around and saw Li Xuanba nestled in Third Sister’s arms, dozing off, he got so annoyed that he rushed over and tugged at the little topknot on Li Xuanba’s head.

Third Lady Li didn’t shield Li Xuanba, letting the two brothers tussle in her arms.

Although she was only eight years older than them, the way she treated her two brothers now was no different from a mother.

Chai Shao watched until his face turned red, his mind drifting to a future scene of him and Third Lady Li surrounded by children.

After finally pushing away his meddlesome brother, Li Xuanba caught sight of Chai Shao’s flushed face.

He once again narrowed his inverted-triangle eyes, and his favorability toward this future brother-in-law plummeted sharply.

If he didn’t know that, in history, Chai Shao and his sister had an excellent relationship—and that despite long separations, Chai Shao only ever had two sons with her—Li Xuanba definitely wouldn’t stop Second Brother from tormenting Chai Shao.

His sister was only fourteen! You seventeen-year-old “overage youth,” don’t wear such a besotted expression. In modern society, that would be a crime, you know?!

Li Xuanba also knew that his discomfort was completely unreasonable in this era, so he only grumbled about it internally.

He was extremely grateful that Emperor Wen of Sui had passed away at just the right time.

His sister had been betrothed to Chai Shao at twelve, with the wedding originally set for thirteen.

Emperor Wen had died in the seventh month of last year. After discussing it, Mother and Grandmother decided that although their family was merely related to the imperial clan by marriage, they would still postpone the wedding by a year.

Emperor Wen passed away on a dingwei day in the seventh month last year. Since there were no auspicious dates suitable for the two children after the seventh month this year, the wedding was set for the second month of next year.

At first, when Li Xuanba grew close to Third Lady Li, it was with utilitarian motives.

But feelings are forged through time together. With Third Lady Li’s personality, who wouldn’t grow genuinely attached after spending long enough with her?

On the surface, Li Xuanba acted indifferent, but in reality he was very reluctant for the Third Sister to marry so early. All he could do was comfort himself: marrying at fifteen was better than marrying at thirteen.

Thanks to Emperor Wen of Sui!

While Li Xuanba was lost in thought, Li Shimin suddenly lunged forward and accidentally shoved his brother out of Third Lady Li’s arms.

As Li Xuanba was pushed, Li Shimin panicked and quickly grabbed him.

But as Li Xuanba fell, he twisted his body and ended up cushioning the fall with Li Shimin beneath him.

“Ow!” Li Shimin wailed, protecting his brother.

Li Xuanba climbed off Li Shimin and scolded him, “Serves you right.”

“Hehe.” Li Shimin rubbed his backside, played dumb, and laughed it off.

Third Lady Li and Chai Shao couldn’t help but laugh. Even the steward struggled to keep the corners of his mouth from lifting.

Just moments ago, the two young masters had seemed frighteningly precocious. Now that they’d returned to behaving like children, the steward’s unease and fear toward these “prodigies” completely dissipated.

The shops in the East Market were easy to deal with; the West Market was more troublesome.

Even when beating a dog, one must consider its owner. With “filial piety” foremost, even servants close to one’s elders had to be shown some respect by the younger generation.

Li Xuanba snarked internally: [Otherwise they’ll complain—“Are you hitting my butt? You’re slapping your elder’s face!”]

There wasn’t yet a word like “your” in this sense, but Li Shimin still picked up on Li Xuanba’s sarcasm.

He leaned close and whispered, “A servant’s butt is the master’s face—who are you insulting here?”

Before Li Xuanba could answer, Li Shimin burst into laughter, clutching his belly and nearly toppling over.

Seeing Li Family’s Second Young Master suddenly laughing for no apparent reason, Chai Shao was utterly baffled.

Third Lady Li, however, felt itchy with curiosity.

Who knew what joke Third Brother had told Second Brother to make him this happy? Ah, if only Chai Shao weren’t here.

Her martial prowess was enough to protect her younger brothers, but she couldn’t brandish weapons or argue openly in front of outsiders—how annoying.

The shopkeeper in the West Market relied on his seniority, making him even harder to deal with than the East Market one.

Under the premise of “not slapping Grandmother’s face,” Li Xuanba and Li Shimin changed tactics.

They checked the accounts as usual and pointed out, as usual, that the shopkeeper had taken kickbacks.

Tsk tsk tsk—forty percent, no less. So printing and selling Buddhist scriptures was that profitable?

This time, Li Xuanba and Li Shimin switched roles.

With a single blink, Li Shimin’s eyes filled with angry tears as he declared he would complain to Grandmother and send the shopkeeper—who had stolen Grandmother’s money—to the authorities.

Li Xuanba couldn’t cry, so he put on a timid, hesitant look, saying he was worried it would hurt Grandmother’s reputation. Since Grandmother had already given them the shopkeeper’s indenture, they could just handle it quietly themselves.

Li Shimin wailed, “I won’t listen, I won’t listen! I’m definitely telling Grandmother!”

Li Xuanba continued to look flustered, his mouth drooping into a nearly-crying expression.

Seeing his brother’s awkward face, Li Shimin finally squeezed a single word of mockery out from the depths of his heart: [Ha!]

Li Xuanba ground his teeth internally: [What are you ‘ha’-ing for?!]

Li Shimin painstakingly popped out the words in his mind, one by one: [Ha!] [Pretend!] [Cry!] [Not!] [Convincing!]

After finally forcing out those words, Li Shimin collapsed onto his brother, weakly saying, “Tired… dizzy…”

Li Xuanba caught his heavy brother and replied internally: [Your mental strength isn’t as strong as mine. Don’t use mind-voice to talk to me.]

Li Shimin leaned against his younger brother and secretly yawned, then pretended to be exhausted from crying as he continued to sob.

Li Sanniang joined the farce at just the right moment. She first ordered the servants she had brought to restrain the shopkeeper, then sent someone to truthfully report the matter to their grandmother—telling her that she would first take the still-crying Erlang and Sanlang out to play for a while, and would personally report back after cheering the two younger brothers up.

At this moment, Chai Shao—who had been nothing more than background scenery until now—finally served a purpose.

Seeing the shopkeeper continue to spew filthy language, Chai Shao pressed down on the back of his head and smashed his face into the ground. The impact broke half of the shopkeeper’s front tooth, leaving his mouth full of blood as he wailed in agony.

“Gag him. Don’t let him sully the ears of our betters,” Chai Shao ordered his servants.

Li Shimin hurriedly reached out and firmly covered Li Xuanba’s eyes. He himself wasn’t afraid at all—on the contrary, he curiously sized up this decisive brother-in-law.

Li Xuanba was speechless.

I’m not afraid either, okay? He’d told his second brother so many times—he. is. not. afraid!

But every time there was a fight or a servant being punished, Second Brother would forget everything he’d said and insist on covering his eyes, making Grandmother and Mother think he was timid.

Li Sanniang’s eyes lit up. Wasn’t this exactly the opportunity Sanlang wanted?

Feigning a frown, Li Sanniang said to Chai Shao, “Chai-lang, I’ll take Erlang and Sanlang to sit for a while at a nearby drinks shop. After you finish handling matters here, buy some pastries for them and come find me.”

Chai Shao immediately agreed, smiling all over his face.

The bit of goodwill Li Shimin had just developed toward Chai Shao plummeted instantly.

Tsk. That smile is so fawning—so ugly.

Li Xuanba, who had just pulled down Second Brother’s hand from his eyes, was equally speechless.

Mother definitely wouldn’t have chosen an ugly husband for Elder Sister. But Chai Shao, Chai Dalang—shouldn’t you do some facial expression management training? What a waste of that handsome face.

Look at my brother—he even cries beautifully. In a later age, he’d definitely become a hugely popular child star.

Li Sanniang, however, didn’t mind Chai Shao’s sudden collapse in looks. After giving him a few more instructions, she led Li Xuanba and Li Shimin out of the bookshop and went to a nearby drinks shop.

At this time, tea was still brewed as a thick soup with many strange additives. Although tea stalls already existed, tea soup was still mostly sold in eateries. It wasn’t until the Kaiyuan era that dedicated teahouses began to take shape.

What passed for “drink shops” now were called yinzi shops, selling beverages made by simmering various flowers, herbs, and dried fruits—similar to later herbal teas or cooling drinks.

Yinzi shops were usually owned by the same proprietor as a pharmacy. Their main “specialty drinks” were endorsed by physicians. They didn’t claim to cure all illnesses, but at least promised some health or wellness benefits.

Li Sanniang chose a secluded corner on the second floor, screened off with folding screens and potted plants. Using the excuse that she preferred quiet, she bought out several nearby empty tables, creating a buffer of space from other customers. She also bought drinks for the servants she’d brought, having them sit in another ring outside the cleared area to rest.

“All right, Sanlang—what is it you want to tell your elder sister?” Li Sanniang asked.

Li Shimin pulled a roll of paper from his robe and handed it to her, complaining, “Whenever it’s something even a bit heavy, A-Xuan loves stuffing it into my clothes.”

Li Xuanba silently held his drink, which contained only dried plums and licorice.

In this heat, he really didn’t want to stuff too many things into his robe—they’d just fall out.

Li Sanniang unfolded the paper Li Shimin had handed her. After reading just a few lines, she exclaimed in surprise, “You want to go into business with me?”

Li Xuanba nodded. He was about to let Second Brother continue acting as his mouthpiece, but Li Shimin crossed his arms over his chest in refusal. “You tell Elder Sister yourself. Big Brother is tired.”

With that, he cradled his drink and gulped it down, ignoring Li Xuanba no matter how hard he poked him mentally.

Seeing that his external vocal apparatus had gone on strike, Li Xuanba had no choice but to speak himself.

“In the future, I’ll come up with some novel items to sell. Children who are too clever are often seen as ominous. The current emperor isn’t broad-minded—if Second Brother and I stand out too much, it may provoke his displeasure…”

Before Li Xuanba could finish, Li Shimin looked up and said, “Why bother hiding it from Elder Sister? Just say it plainly—we have an elder brother who stands to inherit the title. If we’re too outstanding, it might stir his jealousy. Hmph, I spend a little more time being affectionate in Grandmother’s arms, and his gaze turns into knives. So petty.”

Li Xuanba snapped, “Aren’t you not tired? Help me talk.”

Li Shimin immediately lowered his head again and pretended to drink. “I’m tired now.”

Suppressing a laugh, Li Sanniang said, “All right, I understand. That is indeed a concern. With an elder brother above you who will inherit the title, it’s best to keep a low profile until he holds an official post.”

Although their father Li Yuan was still hale and hearty, and Li Jiancheng inheriting the title was still far off, once Li Jiancheng married, their father would certainly seek an official position for him.

Generally, such posts involved entering the palace or the Eastern Palace as a guard officer—like Chai Shao’s current position as Left Qian Niu Beishen.

Because of his close relationship with Crown Prince Yang Zhao, Chai Shao became a Left Qian Niu Beishen shortly after his engagement to Li Sanniang, tasked with protecting the Crown Prince.

The Qian Niu Beishen were imperial guard officers under the Qian Niu Guard, permitted to carry the “Qian Niu saber” within the palace and remain constantly at the emperor’s or crown prince’s side. In modern terms, they would be called “imperial bodyguards with drawn blades.”

The Sui–Tang imperial army was divided into the Southern and Northern Bureaus. The Southern Bureau commanded the realm’s fubing militia, while the Northern Bureau was the emperor’s privately recruited force.

Before the collapse of the fubing system, the Qian Niu Guard formed the core of the imperial guards and served as a training ground for young aristocratic military officers.

At this time, men typically only took up official posts after coming of age. Li Jiancheng was waiting for his capping ceremony before Li Yuan helped him secure a position.

Someone like Chai Shao—unmarried yet already a Left Qian Niu Beishen, carrying a blade within the palace to protect the crown prince—could truly be called a young talent with boundless prospects.

Lady Dou understood her daughter’s pride well. If the man she married had nothing but family background and no personal ability, it would be hard for her to develop real feelings. Thus, she put great thought into choosing a son-in-law.

Li Jiancheng had not yet come of age and held no official post, which was why he focused his attention on his younger brothers in the inner household. Once he gained a real position, his gaze would turn toward the court. He would no longer care about that small patch of domestic territory—and would stop squabbling with his two brothers who were ten years his junior.

“Moreover, I’ve seen other great aristocratic families where the side branches run businesses to fund the main branch’s official careers, yet they’re often not respected. The money they earn gets taken by the main branch at will, which affects the business. If the shop my brother and I run also includes Elder Sister’s investment, then in the future the Duke of Tang’s household would be too embarrassed to casually withdraw money from a married daughter’s shop.”

Li Xuanba added tactfully, “It’s not that I don’t trust Father and Elder Brother’s character. It’s just that my body is too weak, and I’m afraid I won’t amount to much on the official path in the future. I can only earn some money to support myself. I hope Elder Sister won’t laugh at me.”

Li Shimin cut in again, “A-Xuan and I are still young. Grandmother and Mother already told us to curry favor with Elder Brother, so that if he becomes the head of the household in the future, he won’t treat us badly. Since that’s the case, A-Xuan and I won’t rely on the Duke of Tang’s household—we’ll rely on Elder Sister. In the future, Elder Sister will be the one managing the household of the Duke of Julu; you’ll be able to protect A-Xuan and me.”

Li Sanniang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Second Brother, Third Brother, you trust Elder Sister, and that makes me very happy. But once I marry out, I’ll be a woman of the Chai family. How can you trust an outsider even more?”

Li Shimin shook his head. “I don’t believe in insiders or outsiders. I believe in Elder Sister, not in Elder Brother.”

Li Xuanba shot his second brother a glance.

He had originally wanted to say, ‘Even after Elder Sister marries, she’s still Elder Sister—not an outsider.’ He hadn’t expected Second Brother to jump in first—and what he said sounded even more impressive.

Looking at Elder Sister’s smile blooming instantly and her bright eyes, Second Brother really lived up to his reputation. That mouth of his—far too good at talking.

“Since you’ve both said so much, Elder Sister promises you this: I’ll use my dowry to do business with you, and I won’t let anyone from the Chai family interfere,” Li Sanniang said. Being trusted so wholeheartedly by her two younger brothers stirred a surge of bold pride in her heart.

Cough. It wasn’t that she truly believed Father and Elder Brother would covet the pocket money of two children—this was just playing along with her brothers.

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba exchanged a look.

Success!

Elder Sister is so easy to coax!