"You mean to say that His Highness the Third Prince has already begun to be wary of my father?"
Thinking of this, Hu Qinqin's heart suddenly tightened. If her father's identity had been exposed, wouldn't it be extremely dangerous for him to continue staying by the Third Prince's side?
Although Hu Qinqin deeply resented the prime minister for allowing his mistress to murder her mother, she simply couldn't bring herself to completely sever ties with the only person in the world with whom she shared blood.
So in the end, Hu Qinqin chose to forgive her father.
"So what should we do next?"
"Let nature take its course."
Hu Qin was not satisfied with the Fourth Prince's answer, but she did not say anything.
"Although the biggest threat to us right now is His Highness the Third Prince, His Highness the Second Prince should not be underestimated, especially Li Youran by his side, whom we must be wary of."
The Fourth Prince knows that the Second Prince's most important tools, the high-proof liquor and fine salt, were all prepared under the supervision of Li Youran.
Therefore, even though Li Youran was just a woman, the Fourth Prince regarded her as a formidable opponent.
"Since Li Youran cares so much about her friend, then we won't let him have his way."
The Fourth Prince and Hu Qinqin shared the same idea, so on that day Hu Qinqin sent people to keep a close watch on Zhou Caidie. If there was any disturbance and they discovered that she was meeting with Feng Lei in private, they would react immediately. She was determined to ruin Zhou Caidie's reputation.
"I never imagined that not only do Miss Hua and I like hot pot, but even Young Master Liu likes it. Since hot pot has such a wide appeal, why don't we promote it and open a hot pot restaurant? Maybe we can make a fortune."
Since establishing Linglong Bureau, Hua Ruyu has been in a constant state of financial strain. When Li Youran mentioned opening a hot pot restaurant, Hua Ruyu's eyes lit up.
"You Ran, you said you want to open a hot pot restaurant, is that true?"
Hua Ruyu hurriedly looked at Li Youran with an expectant expression. She knew that any novel idea that Li Youran came up with would definitely make money.
As the saying goes, you have to be quick to latch onto someone's coattails. As Hua Ruyu said this, she painfully put the last meat roll into the pot and then served it into Li Youran's bowl.
"I do have that idea. If possible, let's open a hot pot restaurant together."
Li Youran knew what Hua Ruyu was thinking, and she was willing to help Hua Ruyu.
Upon hearing Li Youran's words, Hua Ruyu couldn't hide her smile; she was practically bubbling with joy.
"For something new to quickly become popular in the capital, it naturally needs a leader. Generally, it is people with influence who can play this leading role."
As Li Youran spoke, she glanced at Liu Zhiyuan and continued.
"Young Master Liu, I need your help with something."
"Miss Li, please rest assured, I will do anything I can, even go through fire and water."
"It's not that serious. I'd like to ask you to bring some people over for hot pot."
Liu Zhiyuan looked puzzled after hearing Li Youran's words, wondering what Li Youran meant.
"Once the hot pot restaurant opens, you can bring your ministers to my restaurant for a free hot pot meal."
Seeing that Liu Zhiyuan and Hua Ruyu still didn't quite understand what she meant, Li Youran carefully explained it to them.
"One reason is to invite people to support us, but the main reason is that most of these court officials come from wealthy families. If they all like hot pot, it will soon become a highly sought-after delicacy in the capital, a symbol of new status. This way, hot pot will not only sell well, but its price can also be increased."
After hearing Li Youran's explanation, Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but admire Li Youran's unique ideas, which were beyond the comprehension of most people.
"You Ran, how should we price it?"
Hua Ruyu was most concerned about the money, and she looked at Li Youran with anticipation.
"A plate of meat like this should cost at least eighty coins!"
"This plate of meat weighs less than two ounces, yet it's priced at eighty coins. Isn't that too expensive?"
"This is what you're paying for, and this is the quality you're expecting."
Li Youran said to Hua Ruyu with a sly grin.
"A shrewd businessman, indeed a shrewd businessman."
Hua Ruyu gave Li Youran a thumbs-up, then a lewd smile crept across her face.
"But I like it."
Liu Zhiyuan didn't understand these things and didn't care about the hot pot restaurant. What he cared about most was Li Youran's health and mood.
Seeing that Li Youran was in good spirits today, he felt relieved.
Thinking about how he would definitely bring more people to support Li Youran after her hot pot restaurant opened, he hoped it would be a huge success. As long as Li Youran was happy, he would be happy too.
“Young lady, an old man selling apricots came by today. Since you love apricots, I bought this whole basketful.”
"Put it on the table."
As Zhou Caidie spoke, she walked over.
These days, Zhou Caidie's heart has been in a constant state of anxiety. Li Youran said that Feng Lei would come to find her, but it has been three days and there has been no sign of him. This has made Zhou Caidie begin to doubt whether Li Youran's words are true.
The more she speculated, the more distressed she felt. Although she didn't quite believe what Li Youran said, Zhou Caidie still hoped that Feng Lei would come looking for her.
"These apricots are really good."
Zhou Caidie picked up an apricot and ate it. It was soft and sweet, without any sourness or astringency, which surprised her.
Just then, Zhou Caidie discovered a letter inside the basket.
The letter was unsigned and didn't mention anyone's name, but Zhou Caidie immediately recognized it as a letter from Feng Lei.
Even though Zhou Caidie couldn't read Feng Lei's handwriting, some of the words and scenes mentioned in the letter were all from that day in the garden. She found the last sentence particularly interesting.
“Miss, this letter is really strange. The sentences in the letter are incoherent, and it doesn’t say who it’s addressed to or who the writer is. I wonder what the meaning of such a strange letter is.”
The maidservant beside Zhou Caidie was also literate. She stood behind Zhou Caidie as she read the letter, and the more she read, the stranger it seemed.
But Zhou Caidie had a smile on her face and looked very happy.
"Magpie, hurry up and dress me up, I'm going out for a bit."
Zhou Caidie was overjoyed. She thought to herself that Li Youran was truly remarkable; everything she said had come true, and Feng Lei would really come looking for her.
Then, remembering what Li Youran had said about Feng Lei also having feelings for her, Zhou Caidie's face turned even redder.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
