Xiao Heng glanced over and saw that his godfather was always clear-headed about everything, unlike ordinary farmers' sons.

It seems he guessed something.

That person was his emperor father, a fact he only realized when he was twenty-five in his previous life.

Shen Yu patted Niu Da's leg, maintaining a smile, and said, "May I ask, Lord Ji, who is this gentleman to you?"

Emperor Zhou, with a gentle expression, smiled and said:

"I am merely Lord Ji's brother-in-law, holding a minor official position in the court." "My wife and I have a son who was stranded in a foreign land. It was through various channels that we learned he was living in Zhaoshan Village, Jiangzhou." "I don't know, and this gentleman is..."

Niu Dadao:

"He is my adopted son, and coincidentally, he is also from Zhaoshan Village."

Xiao Heng said, "Lord Huang, my name is Xiao Heng."

It was he who wrote the letter instructing Ji Ninghai to send his emperor father. Although he did not formally acknowledge Ji Ninghai as his uncle, Ji Ninghai sent people to Zhaoshan Village to find out everything about Xiao Heng's background.

"If my child were alive, he would look just like your son." "I heard your family's iced drink business is doing quite well?"

Niu Da was a little nervous.

Chen Yu replied:

"They have quite a few customers."

"I have also tasted your family's iced cheese. It's such a pity that you only have a branch in Jiangzhou!" said Emperor Zhou.

“It’s a bit of a pity, so we plan to set off for the capital tomorrow and open a few shops there,” Chen Yu said.

"That's great. When the shop opens, I, Huang, will definitely patronize it. What kind of business did you do before?" Emperor Zhou asked again.

Shen Yu said, "In the past, we made a living by farming and pulling carts. Things only got better a few years ago. Thinking back to those days, they were really tough. When we were getting rich, we were short of manpower, so we took in this adopted son, and he helped us with a lot of work."

"Every day he toiled in the fields from dawn till dusk, but thankfully the child didn't mind." "Now he's doing well; he passed the imperial examination and will be studying at the Imperial Academy with my second younger brother next year."

The Imperial Academy (Guozijian) was an academy established by the imperial court.

Emperor Zhou felt a pang of heartache. The child looked remarkably like him. He was forty-two years old and had only one son, not to mention Empress Ji, who was originally the woman he loved…

When he personally led the expedition, his then-Consort Chen, who was Ji Ninghai's older sister, was already three months pregnant before he set off.

Although the battle was arduous, it did not last long. He returned to the capital six months later because he knew she was about to give birth, so he made arrangements to end the war in advance. However, on his way back, he heard bad news.

Two months ago, his Consort Chen went to the Daxiangguo Temple to pray for victory in the war and for the emperor's safe return. On her way back to the palace half a month ago, she gave birth prematurely and died in childbirth.

When he returned, he only saw her cold body.

He loved her so much…

Later, Consort Chen was posthumously honored as Empress Yuan.

Emperor Zhou felt that it must be his bad luck that his first wife died in the first year of his reign.

Although he and his first wife were only married for a year and their relationship wasn't particularly deep, they were still each other's first spouses, and he was inevitably somewhat sad during that time.

A few years later, he met Consort Chen again, who was still a young concubine. She was washing her feet by the lotus pond, so innocent and lively. He was gradually attracted to this clever and beautiful girl. She was like a flower that understood his words... and he gradually fell in love with her.

Anyone can have deep affection, but an emperor cannot.

The Empress Dowager favored Consort Tian and intended for her to be the new Empress.

He loved Ji Mingzhu and favored Consort Chen as the new empress.

So the matter remained deadlocked until Consort Chen passed away, at which point Consort Chen was posthumously honored as Empress, and Consort Tian was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort.

"I'm getting a little hungry as we talk," Emperor Zhou said.

Ji Ninghai said, "Brother-in-law, I've already ordered people to make arrangements at Cuiming Hall. It should be ready by now. Let's go together."

“Alright, Brother Niu, you should come too! It’s a good opportunity for us to take a walk,” said Emperor Zhou.

The group entered the hall.

As they ate and drank, the atmosphere gradually eased. The men sat at one table, while the women and children sat at another.

After drinking three cups of wine, Emperor Zhou couldn't help but say to the ox:

"Looking at your daughters, they're all wonderful, blossoming into beautiful young women, unlike any other farm girl."

Shen Yu tensed up at the thought; someone else was going to take her daughter.

Sure enough, Emperor Zhou said:

"I also have a son. If we could arrange a marriage between our children, with Lord Ji and Master Gu acting as matchmakers, that would be the best outcome. What do you say, Lord Ji?"

Ji Ninghai facepalmed. His Majesty the Emperor was definitely drunk... Although the Great Zhou did not discriminate against merchants, the power dynamics in the court were complex and unpredictable, and officials still wielded more power and authority than merchants.

Since the founding of this dynasty, no empress or imperial concubine has ever come from a merchant or peasant family.

Even the princess could not possibly be from a merchant family.

Unable to resist Zhou Di's constant pulling, Ji Ninghai could only nod repeatedly, "Yes, yes, sir, you've had too much to drink."

A...42-year-old "old man"

Niu Da was also drunk, his face and neck flushed. Chen Yu was afraid that if he got too drunk, he would send another daughter out, so she quickly said:

"Dad, you've had too much to drink. Let's go home!"

"No, I'm not drunk. Lord Huang, you have an imposing presence and speak with exceptional manners. You must come from a family with strict discipline and excellent upbringing. Uh, are you the emperor? You came here looking for your son, and now you want to take my daughter away. You...you want to...you want to..."

"Good idea, I approve."

“Let me tell you, in my entire life, I’ve never seen anyone as important as you,” he grabbed the Zhou Emperor by the collar, and said, “Tell me the truth, are you the emperor? I used to be a farmer, now I’m a merchant. Although I haven’t seen any truly great figures, I’m not stupid… Stop pretending.”

These words terrified Niu Yong and the others, who immediately knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

Little Fu Bao knelt down along with Niu Yong and Ji Ninghai, shouting loudly, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Niu Da sobered up immediately.

His leg trembled, and he knelt down.

Niu Da couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Getting drunk is fun for a while, and being drunk all the time is even more fun... He should have kept pretending to be drunk.

When Emperor Zhou was forty-two years old, this was the first time anyone had dared to grab him by the collar and question him. He smiled calmly, bent down to help Niu Da and Shen Yu up, and said:

"I came secretly, don't make a sound, don't be afraid, I'm not a tiger." "I heard that your home is near the prefectural capital, there is a commercial street there, could you take me to have a look?"

"I've also heard that your Niushan County holds a temple fair every year?"

Niu Da stood up and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the temple fair was held when we sent off the Flower Goddess, and it's already over."

Emperor Zhou was quite disappointed:

"Then we'll have to check out your local shopping street."

After nearly a year of construction, the commercial street was finally taking shape, only lacking decoration. The group walked side by side with Emperor Zhou.

Upon arriving at the commercial street, Li Si and Niu Li approached Niu Da and said:

"This commercial street should be ready for use by February or March next year."

Niu Da nodded and said:

"Once the restaurant and courtyard are renovated, we can rent out the other shops as soon as spring arrives."