Sweat beaded on Yuanshan's forehead as he thought to himself: "Aren't you terrifying enough? Look at that menacing aura you exude! If I weren't your personal male attendant, I wouldn't be able to escape. Do you think I'd still dare to stay here…?"

He then respectfully said, "Young master, they are in awe of you. You don't need to take it to heart. Just tell me what you need, and I will do anything for you, even if it means going through fire and water."

Chi Yan's brow twitched. Was he really that scary?

"I haven't said anything yet, and you're already asking me to go through fire and water. Go, summon the young king, and tell him I'm not feeling well and have caught a cold. Make up whatever you want." With that, he waved his hand, signaling Yuanshan to hurry up.

Yuanshan was in a dilemma. Today was the second day of the young king's wedding. If he were asked to go and call for people, the king would surely tear him apart.

Just then, Chi Yan's angry voice reached his ears.

"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and go!"

Yuanshan sighed softly, gritted his teeth and stamped his foot. If he didn't go, he might be torn apart by this evil god by now. He should go.

He bowed timidly and withdrew.

Crane Sleep Garden

Yuanshan, looking like he was about to die a heroic death, knocked on the gate of Hemian Garden, bowing and scraping as he begged Langyue to let him go and announce his arrival.

Lang Yue was not about to let him succeed. Her master was cunning, and her servants were ungrateful, daring to brazenly come to demand her people. She was immediately enraged.

"Your Tingfeng Pavilion has quite the nerve! Your master isn't even the male head of our Langya Manor yet. His Highness and our Lord have only been married for two days, and this young master, who's just a guest here, dares to compete for favor with our Lord?"

Upon hearing this, Yuanshan quickly apologized: "Master Langyue, look at what you're saying. Our young master has no intention of vying for favor. Please don't misunderstand my young master. If I have offended you, please forgive me and don't hold it against me."

"Master Langyue, my young master is indeed ill. He had a high fever last night and it won't go down. You can see for yourself today. My young master is in very poor spirits, and his eyes are even bruised. Please do me a favor and let me know."

As he spoke, he took out three taels of silver from his pocket, attempting to bribe Lang Yue.

Lang Yue threw the silver on the ground, furious.

"How dare you insult me, the master? Is this how Young Master Chi taught you? Who do you think you are?"

"Why don't you go to the royal physician if you're sick? Why do you have to come to our courtyard to bring bad luck?"

Yuanshan thought he thought it was too little, so he patted the pocket at his waist, took out five taels of silver, and squatted down to pull out thirty taels of small-denomination silver notes from his shoe heel, and handed them to Langyue together.

With a bewildered expression, he said, "Master, this is all the wealth I have left. Please be lenient with me."

From the moment Lang Yue saw him squat down to touch his shoes, she was furious. Hearing the number he mentioned, she staggered in anger.

This idiot dared to humiliate him like that.

"You...you Tingfeng Pavilion, very well, just wait and see."

After saying that, she stormed into the courtyard in a huff. Yuanshan scratched the back of his head, wondering why Langyue had suddenly gone berserk. Judging from her posture, she was going to complain.

That would be terrible! We should save our lives first.

He quickly picked up the money from the ground and ran away.

In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Lang Yue led a group of people to the courtyard gate, intending to teach this arrogant brat a lesson, but when he looked around, there was no one there.

"Very well, Tingfeng Pavilion is a den of scoundrels. You just wait."

"snort."

…

Yuanshan returned to Tingfeng Pavilion and knelt tremblingly at Chi Yan's feet.

"Young master, you must save me! Master Langyue is going to beat me to death!"

Chi Yan frowned: "What's going on? Didn't I tell you to go and invite Her Highness? Where is she?"

Yuanshan looked terrified: "Young master, I went to invite His Highness, but Steward Langyue wouldn't let me in or announce my arrival. I said many nice things, but he ignored me. I took out all my silver and gave it to him, but he threw my silver away, saying that I insulted him and that he would have me beaten to death. Please, young master, save me."

He then suddenly slammed his head on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

Chi Yan's face darkened. This Lang Yue was so ungrateful; he'd given him money and still wouldn't release him.

He angrily demanded, "How much money did you give him?"

Yuanshan replied in a hoarse voice, "I gave him all of my thirty-odd taels of silver, but he said I was insulting him? Young master, did I do something wrong?"

Chi Yan sneered. "You're wrong. He's a follower of the young lord of Lin Kingdom, so why would he care about a mere thirty-odd taels of silver?"

After saying that, he took out a stack of silver notes from his pocket.

"Take this five thousand taels of silver. Next time you spend money, it must be at least one hundred taels. For a male servant of Lang Yue's caliber, it should start at least five hundred taels. Do you understand?"

If others knew that he, the dignified Lord of the Azure Sky, could only afford thirty taels of silver to bribe officials, where would he put his face?

Yuanshan trembled as he accepted the silver notes. He had never seen so much money in his life. His master was truly generous.

"Master, Yuanshan understands. And Master, what about Steward Langyue?"

Chi Yan scoffed: "He's just a male servant, why be afraid of him? I will protect you, now you may leave."

Yuanshan withdrew with gratitude.

After this incident, he discovered that Chi Yan was not as heartless as he appeared. On the contrary, he would consider the needs of his servants. When he failed to invite the young king, Chi Yan not only did not scold him, but also gave him money to bribe officials. He was truly a good master.

He secretly made up his mind that he would serve Chi Yan well from now on, follow Chi Yan, and never betray him.

Lang Yue was so angry that she smashed cups and bowls. This Chi Yan was no good. He only knew how to use tricks to seduce His Highness. His servants were no pushovers either, daring to openly curse him.

Lang Yue remembered the grudge he had against Tingfeng Pavilion.

For three days, Leng Qingning rested in the Crane Sleeping Garden.

Hehuanting

"My lord, His Highness has been staying with the Lord for several days now. Aren't you worried?"

Xiao An heard from the other servants that His Highness favored his master and the one from Tingfeng Pavilion the most. He also knew that among the ministers, His Highness disliked his master the most. Last time, His Highness finally came to Hehuan Pavilion drunk, but his master did nothing at all? What a waste of an opportunity.

Lu Shiyi's expression was calm, but was he anxious?

Of all the people in the manor, Lu Shiyi was most wary of Wen Yanche. Not only was he of the highest birth, but he was also the most handsome man in the world and quite talented. His Highness liked him the most.

What's the use of being anxious about someone like that?

Moreover, he didn't have the resources to oppose Wen Yanche. He believed that, if possible, it was more appropriate to join Wen Yanche's camp than to stand on his side.

"Xiao An, how many times have I told you? Stay calm and composed, what's meant to come will come."

"He is, after all, the master of this mansion. It's fine for Your Highness to stay in Crane Sleep Garden for a few more days. In the future, he will be the one to call the shots in this mansion. We'd better get on good terms with him."