Chapter 113 When Rivals Meet, Does the Food Come Free?

The next day, the fourth prince, Li Zhao, visited the Zhuang residence as promised.

Zhuang Ziyang led the men to the study. It is unknown what the two talked about, but Li Zhao was not as cunning and shameless as before. He just stood there staring at Zhuang Ziyang.

His gaze was like ice, piercing towards Prime Minister Zhuang in front of him with icy shards.

"Prime Minister Zhuang is determined to make trouble for me."

His words carried a chill, subtly revealing a hint of hostility.

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness? I have been doing my duty to serve the country. Now the country is peaceful and prosperous, and the people are filial and the ruler is wise. How could I be saying that I am doing Your Highness any harm?"

Zhuang Ziyang's words were polite and measured. To an outsider, they could sound like his heartfelt words, advice to the Fourth Prince, or simply a rebuttal intended to leave the Fourth Prince speechless.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Fourth Prince narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together into a thin line.

He suddenly let out a cold laugh, "Good, very good. Prime Minister Zhuang is loyal to the country. I was just overthinking it."

Seeing this, Zhuang Ziyang remained silent and stared directly at the Fourth Prince. The prince then said, "Li Zhao will remember Prime Minister Zhuang's teachings and hopes that the Prime Minister will not regret it in the future."

Zhuang Ziyang clasped his hands together in a gesture of respect and bowed slightly, clearly indicating his intention to see the guest off.

Li Zhao snorted and cursed, then lifted his robe and left.

Seeing that everyone had left, Xuan Ying stuffed the last piece of hibiscus cake into her mouth, then leaped off the jujube tree outside the study.

He didn't see that shortly after he left, Zhuang Shutong brought some snacks to the study to find Zhuang Ziyang.

"Father?" She put down the pastry box and observed Zhuang Xiang's expression.

"Hmph!" Zhuang Ziyang slammed down in his chair. "He threatened me!"

Zhuang Shutong thought to herself, "Isn't he here to threaten you?" But the words that came out of her mouth circled around a few times, "The Fourth Prince is really becoming more and more outrageous. In the past few years, he has come up with all sorts of ways to win people over, and now he is resorting to blatant threats."

When it comes to stirring up trouble, she admits to being second to none in the Zhuang family. "If you ask me, Father should copy down everything he said, word for word, and present it to the Emperor for a good look."

Zhuang Ziyang glanced at his daughter. He was just doting on her; he wasn't senile. Last night, in a fit of anger, he carefully considered the situation as Shu Tong suggested. But who would go to the emperor and accuse their own son of plotting against them and being eager to seize the throne? What if the father and son whispered among themselves? Wouldn't he end up pleasing neither side?

In any case, he maintained a neutral stance, refusing to side with either side, and peacefully retired during Emperor Qing's reign. What happened after that was beyond his control and beyond his reach.

Seeing that her father wasn't falling for her trick, Zhuang Shutong took out some pastries from the box to appease him, "Won't the Fourth Prince get angry and do something bad to you?"

"I'm afraid of him?!" Zhuang Ziyang immediately glared and bristled. "I've always done my job diligently and without a single mistake. What can he do to me?!"

"Sigh, I'm just afraid he'll go and cause trouble for Zhao Zhao again."

Zhuang Ziyang glanced at his daughter and said, "The Jinwu Guards caused trouble at the teahouse because of Zhang Youdao. How would they know about Zhaozhao's relationship with our family?"

Zhuang Shutong knew these principles, but when it came to her daughter, she couldn't help but worry.

Seeing his father say this, he thought that perhaps he was overthinking it, so he didn't say anything more.

He was only thinking about sending someone to deliver a letter to his daughter later, and that he had to be careful these days so that no one would cause trouble again. He wasn't in a hurry to reopen the teahouse in the next few days; it was better for it to stay closed.

When Li Yang received Zhuang Shutong's letter, she felt both amused and exasperated. However, she saw in her mother's letter that Zhang Youdao was doomed and that because of the Jinwuwei incident, Lord Ji had lost face in court and probably wouldn't be able to take care of them for the time being.

She handed the letter to Chen Junbo and asked, "Mother said we should temporarily close this shop. What do you think?"

Chen Junbo: "This won't do!"

He hadn't forgotten that it was he who suggested taking over the teahouse last time, which led Zhao Zhao to run off to the capital alone with a stranger.

At this moment, he wasn't sure what Li Yang meant by asking such a question, but he would never mention closing the teahouse again. If his wife ran away again, he really didn't know where she would end up.

Seeing his straightforward answer, Li Yang couldn't help but laugh, "Speak properly, don't be like that."

Seeing that she still wouldn't let go of the topic, Chen Junbo simply pulled her into his arms. "Your mother suggested closing the teahouse because she was worried that you would get into trouble again, so the other party has no reason to cause trouble now."

Li Yang tilted her head back from his embrace, as if wanting to hear him continue. Chen Junbai stroked her hair with one hand, "But you've put so much effort into this teahouse. If you don't want to close it, then keep it open."

I think Madam Zhang has offended Lord Ji this time, so she'll probably have to behave herself for a while. Although it's not as convenient for us in the capital as it is in Songshan Town, we still have my grandfather backing us up, and besides, I'm the imperial merchant of the Lianghuai salt industry.

"Let's see who dares to lay a finger on you."

His words were so domineering that Li Yang was amused. "I never knew that General Manager Chen could be so domineering!"

Seeing that she had finally stopped bringing up that deadly topic, Chen Junbo was happy to be teased by her, "Who am I doing this for!"

The two were embracing and kissing inside the house when Xiao Lu anxiously knocked on the door outside, "Young Master, Young Madam, Master Fei is here."

Why is Master Fei here? Li Yang quickly pulled away from his embrace, tidied his hair in front of the bronze mirror, and hurriedly went to open the door.

Chen Junbo took her hand. "Master Fei? Is he the manager of Tianxiang Tower you mentioned?"

Li Yang nodded and added, "That's not all."

She then urged him to hurry up.

After the two entered the private room, Chen Junbo saw a man dressed in a flowing yellow brocade robe, looking very noble.

The newcomer was taken aback upon seeing the two, but quickly realized what was happening. "General Manager Chen, Zhao Zhao."

His address made Chen Junbo extremely uncomfortable. Since he knew his identity, he should have addressed Zhao Zhao as Madam Chen. To call him General Manager Chen and Zhao Zhao by her childhood name was really inappropriate.

Looking at Li Yang, he seemed completely unconcerned, and simply stepped forward warmly, "Master Fei!"

The man nodded and said, "I heard that your teahouse is having some difficulties, so I came to take a look."

The two exchanged words, while Chen Junbo stood aside, took a deep breath, and said, "Master Fei, we have never met before. I wonder how you know my identity?"

His words, using both "this humble one" and "this sir," were quite a mouthful. Li Yang couldn't help but give Chen Junbo a strange look, which made Chen Junbo's expression even colder.

Fei Ye said, "Mr. Chen, you are too kind. Everyone in the capital knows that Mr. Chen leads the salt merchants of Lianghuai Salt Industry to serve the country."

Chen Junbo had no doubt that his name was well-known everywhere. Perhaps the man would recognize him the first time they met. He couldn't help but squint and scrutinize the man opposite him.

Is this person really just a teahouse manager?

The person opposite him seemed completely unfazed, staring directly back at him.

Chen Junbo's doubts deepened. He had followed his grandfather into business since childhood, so he had an extraordinary aura and had never seen anyone look at him like that before.

This made them even more suspicious of the other party's identity.

Seeing the exchange of glances between the two, Li Yang couldn't help but say, "Thank you for your concern, Master Fei. We are still under renovation these past two days and will be able to open for business in a few days."

Li Zhen came to the teahouse today mainly because Emperor Qing had entrusted him with investigating the matter of the Jinwu Guard disturbing the people. Therefore, he came to the teahouse to find Li Yang and wanted to ask him in detail.

He hadn't expected to run into Chen Junbo today, but upon seeing the man, his demeanor was undeniably extraordinary despite his low-key nature. Who else could this person be but Chen Junbo?

For some reason, he felt unusually irritable, and because Chen Junbo had started the argument, he started arguing with him.

Now that Li Yang had mentioned it, he remembered why he had come, so he stopped paying attention to Chen Junbo and instead asked Li Yang about what happened that day.

Li Yang was already dissatisfied with the Imperial Guards. When Fei Ye asked about it, he remembered that it was the Second Prince who had helped deal with the Imperial Guards that day. So he embellished the story and described in detail how the Imperial Guards broke into the shop, how they pushed people to the ground, and how they smashed the shop's items. When he got excited, he even mentioned the value of the damaged items in silver.

When Li Zhen heard her begin to report the expenses, he couldn't help but smile to himself, thinking to himself, "This young lady is so shrewd; she has recorded the losses so clearly."

Actually, that's not the case at all. It's all because Chen Junbo said he could find a pen to donate money that day, so she had Youfeng and the others write it down.

Li Zhen was unaware of the many reasons behind this. He only felt that Li Yang was truly extraordinary. He had never seen such a shrewd and calculating woman in the capital, inside or outside the palace.

Young women tend to have narrow-mindedness and are prone to being petty and calculating. If your hairpin steals the show today, my earrings will outshine yours tomorrow.

It's rare to find someone as shrewd and calculating as Li Yang, yet with such an innocent and naive demeanor.

Not only Li Zhen shared this view, but even Chen Junbo couldn't help but feel a little amused and exasperated when he saw Li Yang casually list the value of the tables, chairs, and benches.

He thought to himself that it was fortunate he still had some silver at home, otherwise this woman would probably have been kidnapped by someone with just two ingots of silver.

While the group was talking, it was mainly Fei Ye and Li Yang who were talking. As it got dark, Li Zhen finally understood what had happened that day.

He couldn't help but feel contempt. His fourth brother was becoming more and more unruly. He couldn't even come up with a proper excuse. He came to the teahouse in broad daylight to look for a criminal. Didn't he realize that if he didn't find the criminal, where would Huang Jia's authority be?

Seeing that it was getting late, Fei Ye got up to say goodbye.

"Brother Fei, it's getting late, how about we share a meal together?" Li Yang asked politely.

Chen Junbo frowned deeply. When did his wife become so enthusiastic? Did the food not cost money?

To everyone's surprise, the other party readily agreed, simply saying "thank you" before sitting down again.

Chen Junbo felt that the people in the capital were shameless. The host was just being polite, yet there were people who sat down and waited for their meal so casually.

But not knowing the depth of his background, Chen Junbo couldn't make a scene and had to have another meal with him before finally sending him away.

Li Zhen was in high spirits when he returned to his residence and found Xuan Ying already waiting in his study.