The Han Sisters 20 Good News, Bad News 1

"Do you still remember what are those two hairpins on shopkeeper Xiao Han's tray?", Lou Yi questioned the maid as soon as she saw that Xiao Ning had gone to guard the door. Even when this is her own courtyard, she was still vigilant against possible spies and ill-intended individuals hidden in the dark.
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"Yes, Your Highness.", Xiao Cui nodded in affirmation. "One is a blood red agate and the other is a blue moonstone."

"And?", Lou Yi prodded Xiao Cui to speak more.

Although she doesn't understand why her master is making her speak something that she already knows personally, she still continued speaking. "According to Yu Xiang Pavilion's code, blood red means bad news that requires the owner to inspect while blue means good news."

Lou Yi nodded while still deep in thoughts. She rapped the surface of the table rhythmically as she calculated some things in her mind.

After a while, she spoke what was already in her mind earlier out loud. "This shopkeeper Xiao Han is sure quick-witted."

Indeed, the guy is worth praising. To be honest, all shopkeepers of the branches of Yu Xiang Pavilion, as the head of their respective branch, are trained to be quick on their feet. The real nature of Yu Xiang Pavilion is an information gathering house. The shop is just a front. The employees of the pavilion are given tasks that will allow them to covertly gather information - they may be sent to work in brothels, as servants of influential houses, and so much more. As there are branches in many places and Lou Yi has designed a way to deliver information faster, she is more knowledgeable about important affairs than anywhere else. To Lou Yi who believes that information is power, Yu Xiang Pavilion employees must be the cream of the crops, even more so with the shopkeepers who handle confidential information. Their loyalty to the owner, aka her, should be unquestionable as well.

Through Lou Yi's designs, all Yu Xiang Pavilion employees are rigorously evaluated according to their performance before they are promoted to higher positions. Only those who show loyalty, ability to handle pressure, and capabilities to sift through information efficiently are promoted to the position of a shopkeeper. Moreover, only when they are able to stably sat in the head seat for a certain period of time are they allowed to know who the true owner of the pavilion is.

Despite knowing that the quick wits of shopkeeper Xiao Han may be due to their rigorous training, Lou Yi still can't help but admire the other person's actions earlier.

Among one of the many trainings the shopkeepers have to go through, one of them is familiarizing codes that will allow the pa.s.sing of information as secretly as possible. Earlier, the shopkeeper clearly used these codes to tell her something. Only when Lou Yi a.n.a.lyzed the meaning of the code did she appreciate the shopkeeper's action. The shopkeeper had provided her with crucial information at the soonest time he can. When in whatever kind of war, how fast key information travels is how easy you can topple your enemies or defend your territory.

The blue moonstone hairpin from Zhao signifies good news. Most likely, shopkeeper Xiao Han is simply trying to tell her about the successful migration of the main headquarters of Yu Xiang Pavilion from Zhao to Xin. It was an easy guess for her, especially when the shopkeeper has mentioned that the moonstone hairpin was created in Zhao. The latest good news she is expecting to come from or related to the Kingdom of Zhao is only this, after all.

On the other hand, although she had her own conclusions about the bad news that the blood red agate hairpin symbolizes, she didn't dare be complacent.

"Bad news.", Lou Yi slowly mumbled as she knocked her knuckles on the table slowly. "Kingdom of Hua."

'That' is the only bad news she is expecting from the Kingdom of Hua!