Chapter 91 Li Yang's Family Secret Manual for Running Away - Running Away

Bi Fang has not been doing well these past few days.

The other day, the young master and Lord Lin cracked the case of Lord Zhang's surplus profit with great speed. Since Lord Zhang will be transferred to another place in only one year, considering his relationship with his brother-in-law, the young master persuaded Lord Lin to avoid trouble and simply relieve Lord Zhang of the responsibility of managing the pre-collected salt permits.

As is well known, the young master's excitement vanished without a trace within a day. The next day, the young master began to flirt with the tea master, saying, "Go and make an appointment with the tea master. If he is free, we can meet at the Ruyi Pavilion."

In those hectic days, before I could even arrange to meet the person at Ruyi Pavilion, a major incident occurred at home.

"Nobody knows?"

In the courtyard, Chen Junbo's voice was as cold as ice, making people shrink back in fear.

That night, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All the servants held their breath, afraid that even the breath they exhaled would become the culprit.

Bi Fang rushed to Lanxin Pavilion. Upon seeing the situation, he looked around and approached Chen Junbai. "Young Master," he said, handing the letter over with both hands, "I just found this letter when I returned to my room."

This was the first time the little deer had left him a letter. Her crooked handwriting was quite cute. If it weren't for the fact that what she said in the letter was truly unbelievable, he wouldn't have been willing to hand it over to the young master.

Chen Junbo glanced at it and immediately turned back to his room. "Bifang, come here."

“Send people to the nearby towns to look for her immediately,” he said, sitting at his desk with narrowed eyes. “Also, go to the teahouse to find out what’s going on; her friend, the manager, must know where she went.”

Bi Fang accepted the order and was about to leave when he heard, "Also, that shopkeeper, Zhong Qian, call him over to give an answer."

After the study door closed, Chen Junbo's fingers unconsciously traced the teacup on the table, the tea she had half-drunk that morning.

He suddenly felt weak, his eyes furrowed, and his fingertips trembled as he rubbed his brow.

That night, after he told Zhao Zhao about his plan to close the teahouse, she fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.

He also knew that she had put a lot of effort into the teahouse, so it would be difficult for her to accept it all at once. His suggestion was also to test Zhaozhao's attitude. If she cried and made a fuss, it wouldn't be impossible to find a way to negotiate with the teahouse official.

She remained silent, making it impossible to discern her attitude.

The next day, the girl ran out again without a word and didn't return until late at night.

He assumed Zhaozhao was busy with teahouse affairs and didn't object. But for several days in a row, the girl didn't say a word to him, and when they occasionally met, she would just nod and leave.

Only then did Chen Junbo belatedly realize that his words that day had backfired. Although she didn't cry or make a scene, she was clearly directing her anger at him.

Feeling helpless, he asked Bifang to arrange for a tea shop to make up for her during the day. When he returned home at night, he was surprised to find that she had run away with a small bundle on her back.

I clearly saw her tear up the contract before, but who knew she would find the marriage contract again from somewhere, and even said that since only one year of the two-year marriage contract had passed, she would return half of the betrothal gifts.

She certainly knows how to keep these accounts clear!

But he disagreed. He thought her calculations were wrong. How could the debts of human hearts be settled so easily? She had miscalculated.

When she returns, he will definitely settle the score between them.

But where did this person go?

His gaze fell on the page: 'Although my young mistress has gone to the nearby city.' It's been almost a year. What has Bi Fang taught that little deer girl? She even misspells words when she writes a note. The nearby city has his salt shops in all the surrounding towns. He's not afraid of not being able to find his young mistress from the Chen family salt shops.

This girl has such a temper! Chen Junbo couldn't help but sigh again. He wouldn't bother the local officials to handle his family's private affairs unless absolutely necessary.

Last time it was about finding her parents, and now it's even worse, with her added to the mix. Is this disappearing and running away some kind of secret technique? It seems the son is following in his father's footsteps.

The person who inherited his parents' unique skill of running away is also not doing well right now.

"Ugh..." Li Yang leaned against the railing and turned to vomit, "Water, water."

Xiao Lu quickly handed over a cup of tea, "Young Madam, please rinse your mouth."

"My goodness... how could this ship be like this... ugh..."

She suffered from seasickness from the very first day she boarded the ship, a truly disastrous start. She felt dizzy and weak in the legs.

"Zhaozhao, quickly take a sniff of this menthol." Lu Jie came from the cabin and handed over the sachet in his hand. "You don't often travel by ship, so it's normal for you to get seasick. This menthol is refreshing and invigorating. Take a sniff, it can suppress your seasickness a little."

Li Yang took the pills from his hand, sniffed them intensely, and coughed violently. "This stuff is really strong. Lu Jie, how many more days until we reach the waterway? I really can't go on..."

Lu Jie pondered for a moment, “It has been ten days since we set off from Guazhou Ferry. We have just crossed Huai’an Ferry. If we go north to the Jiangbei section, we can cross the Zhahe River at Jingning and reach Tongzhou directly. So it will take about twenty more days by water.”

Twenty days left?

Mother, I'm going to die!

Did she run away and get her comeuppance?

Since the day Chen Junbo suggested closing the teahouse, her heart suddenly felt at peace.

In his eyes, his teahouse business was nothing more than a small-scale operation. She had devoted herself to turning the teahouse around, transforming it, and developing tea-related activities over the past six months, but in his eyes, it was nothing more than a waitress's frivolous antics.

Even though the two had argued about the waiter at the flower shop and had quarreled about Manager Zhong, he still felt that he was just joking.

Over the past year, the two have gone through many ups and downs. She admits that Chen Junbo treats her very well and will offer her everything.

But he always seemed to treat her like a child, and all he did and gave her were things he casually bestowed upon her for play.

But she wasn't a child, and she wasn't joking around; he seemed to never understand these words.

How can you get someone who's covering their ears to listen to what you're saying?

Having figured this out, she was too lazy to waste any more words with him, but she absolutely refused to close the tea plantation. After much thought, she came up with a quick solution.

The next day, she sought out Lu Jie, and after a brief discussion, she packed her bags and, with tea in hand, boarded a ship to Beijing with the foreigner she had only met a few times.

She was determined to solve the teahouse's predicament on her own, and told Chen Junbo to keep a close eye on her, as she could run the business well without him.

Nowadays, a mere twenty days' journey by water is just a small hurdle, nothing to worry about.

Li Yang gripped the mast tightly, took a breath, and said, "Twenty days, twenty, ugh..." He steadied himself and said, "It's alright, twenty days."

After a short rest, she turned to the important matter, "Lu Jie, has it been finalized in the capital?"

"Don't worry," Lu Jie replied with a smile, "Once we arrive in the capital, I will immediately take you to see Master Fei. He runs the renowned Tianxiang Restaurant in the capital and has countless dealings with officials and merchants. He will surely have a way to help you open a teahouse in the capital."

"Thank you, Lu Jie."

She originally intended to use Lu Jie's connections to sell off this batch of tea in the capital, but the tea simply couldn't be sold off slowly; by next year it would be stale tea.

After discussing with everyone at the teahouse for a day and a night, Fang Yuan suddenly exclaimed, "Zhao Zhao, what are you afraid of? Since you've decided to go to the capital in person, why not just open a teahouse there?"

Her words seemed to add fuel to the fire, and seeing the stunned expressions on everyone's faces, she continued, "Zhaozhao, don't be afraid. Zhou Chengli was fortunate enough to meet a mentor when he went to the capital for the imperial examination. I heard that he is a prominent figure in the capital. I will send a message to him. If you can't get through Lu Jie's method when you get to the capital, go and find him. He will definitely have a solution."

"Open a teahouse?" Li Yang pondered. "That way, we'll have a legitimate reason to transfer the tea from the warehouse to the capital. Once the teahouse opens in the capital, both places can work together to clear out the tea and leave only a small amount in stock, which won't be a problem. But Chengli is very busy preparing for the exams in the capital, so how can we disturb him at this time?"

Fang Yuan didn't take it to heart, "It's just a backup plan. His knowledge is not a matter of a day or two's difference. However, I'm not comfortable with you going alone this time. You should take a few more people with you."

The little deer's eyes darted around: "Young Madam, I'll go with you."

“What use would you be?” Zhong Qian retorted. “Master, I will go with you.”

“Manager Zhong, you can’t go.” Li Yang laughed. “You still need to stay in Songshan Town and continue to sell tea for me. Who in this room can match your sales performance?”

Seeing this, Luo Yinhua and her two daughters, who had been silent for half a day, looked at each other. Suddenly, Youfeng said, "Young Madam, I will go with you. Although I only sell some hairpins every day, I can sell them without any problems. If, if Manager Zhong can teach me a thing or two, I can go to the capital to help my master."

Upon hearing this, the little deer snorted: "As if you could learn it in just two days of instruction from Manager Zhong."

Unexpectedly, Ziyan also spoke up: "Zhaozhao, now that the southern tour is over, I'm just idling around anyway, so why don't I go to the capital with you and do some field research?"

Seeing everyone's support, Li Yang sighed with emotion. Even without Chen Junbo's help, she still had all these friends, so what was there to be afraid of?

Several people gathered in the cabin, gazing at the surging river, and were filled with lofty ambitions.

Little did they know, the Chen residence was already in chaos and turmoil.

Bi Fang stammered, "Young Master..."

"Gao County, Yizheng, Guazhou, Ganquan—there's no trace of her anywhere. Where could she have gone? Could she have grown wings and flown away? We can't find a single person," Chen Junbai said, his voice low but each word a question, "Where is your girl? Has she sent any message back?"

"Young Master, not yet." Bi Fang was also hesitant. He was counting the days, and Xiao Lu should have sent a letter back by now, but he hadn't received a single word.

"Get down."

Chen Junbo lost patience. A bunch of useless people, not a single one of them could be found.

He got up and went to the window, propping up the shutters. Gazing at the dark clouds obscuring the moon, he murmured to himself, "Zhaozhao, where have you gone..."

He had already smoothed things over with the tea shop, and they agreed to extend the deadline by another six months. Although Zhang Youdao intended to make things difficult, he was ultimately like a grasshopper in autumn, and under Lord Lin's iron fist, he could only hope to live a peaceful life and wait until his next appointment.

Now, after years of lying low, he has finally encountered an upright official like Lord Lin, and the salt industry in Lianghuai is now clean and honest. Meanwhile, her dispute with her mother has long since ended, and the Chen household is now united, with no further dissent.

Life was clearly getting better and better, but she just left.

Chen Junbo couldn't help but chuckle; in the end, he held no place in her heart whatsoever. For the sake of a teahouse, she wrote a letter and left.

Holding the letter in his hand, his eyes were desolate.

'Chen Junbo, I will revive the teahouse. The engagement ends here. I'll return half of the betrothal gifts in a year.'

Two turtles in the corner were actually putting a strip of cloth over their heads...

Teahouse, teahouse, teahouse! With teahouses like this, opening ten or eight more would be no problem for her. Why did she make the decision on her own without consulting him?

Zhao Zhao, Zhao Zhao, what am I to you?

Bi Fang returned and stood at the door, saying softly, "Young Master, Manager Zhong has arrived."

Before the clock? Excellent!

"Bring him in."

Chen Junbo turned and sat down, his eyes deep and clear. "Zhao Zhao, you can run, but I can catch you."

Zhong Qian bowed and entered, his hands hanging at his sides. "Young Master Chen."

Chen Junbo: "Manager Zhong, how have you been?"

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Author's Note: The female lead finally ran away! [heart emoji]