If a man's word is his bond, then pigs can climb trees.
Gu An'an didn't entirely trust Lin Zixing's words.
She didn't rush to agree, but instead ordered a few signature dishes from the Taibai Restaurant in Beijing and savored them there.
One of the dishes was quite familiar to Gu An'an; it was the fermented pork that she had previously sold to Taibai Restaurant in Anping County.
"This braised pork with fermented rice wine tastes so-so. I'll make it for you to try when we get back. You're from Jiangnan, so your taste is on the sweeter side. I'll also make you some sweet and sour fish later. Zhu'er and Mingyi both really like it."
Man Niang quickly smiled and agreed, "Then I thank you in advance, Master. I've heard Jiu Niang say before that you started your business with this excellent skill."
"Your boss's skills are excellent. Don't let her appearance fool you; she's a master hunter. I heard she hunted down quite a few wild boars before. She's a heroine, a remarkable person."
Man Niang didn't know these things, but she knew that Young Master Lin had his reasons for saying that.
She shouldn't have answered so readily.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was very strange. Manniang's eyes darted back and forth between Gu An'an and Lin Zixing, trying to find something, but she found nothing.
She came from the world of pleasure, so naturally she wouldn't misjudge anything.
However, one could not see any romantic feelings in Lin Zixing's eyes; rather, they seemed to be testing him.
What are they testing?
Man Niang couldn't guess.
She felt that Gu An'an was a very strange person, and her whole being seemed to be a mystery.
Even when you're extremely close, you still can't see clearly what's in this foggy, cloud-like situation.
Just then, Man Niang heard Lin Zixing say, "What has Lady Gu thought about it?"
"Well, Mr. Lin has to tell me what kind of cooperation you'd like to have with me."
Cooperating with Lin Zixing is tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin.
However, Gu An'an hasn't sorted out her thoughts yet; she wants to get more information.
"I see that Madam Gu's doll shop is quite lively. I wonder if I could get a share of the profits?"
"Master." Before Gu An'an could speak, Man Niang suddenly spoke up. Realizing that she might have been too startled, she softened her voice and said, "I'll refill your tea."
Lin Zixing immediately saw through Man Niang's little scheme, saying, "The people around you are quite clever."
These words made Man Niang's hand tremble slightly, and the tea spilled onto the table.
"There's nothing I can do. I'm just a person who has things that you, Young Master Lin, are so interested in. I need someone smart to remind me of something."
The conversation then turned to Lin Zixing.
Looking at the person with a forced smile, Gu An'an tried to analyze the situation. "I haven't met many people since I came to the capital. Since it's not Young Master Lin making things difficult for me, I think the one who might be causing trouble for me is the Chen family?"
The young man in brocade robes sitting opposite him raised an eyebrow. "Oh, what makes you say that?"
"Just a random guess." Gu An'an knew she had guessed correctly.
That day, while they were having lunch, Chen Yuan and Chen Bei were summoned. Although Chen Shu and Chen Bei had come to see her in the afternoon, Chen Shu was clearly unaware of what had happened at home.
What's there to hide?
Unless it's something you're ashamed to do.
If Lin Zixing hadn't reminded her, she wouldn't have realized that the mastermind behind all this was actually the Chen family.
Having dealt with the prefectural government before, Gu An'an quickly understood the reason.
Just as Zhao Qianqian had made up, the Chen family was afraid that Chen Yuan and his brother's close association with her would have a negative impact, so they gave her a small punishment as a warning.
Such prominent families, unless they do not pursue official careers, will inevitably engage in marriage alliances.
Chen Yuan has a bright future ahead of him, and it's really not good for him to associate too much with a divorced woman like her.
Having figured this out, Gu An'an smiled, "Thank you, Young Master Lin, but let's forget about the cooperation. I'm afraid my little Mercedes business wouldn't even meet your standards."
Gu An'an smiled as she savored the delicious food, and never mentioned the collaboration again.
After lunch, she left with Manniang, leaving Lin Zixing sitting there all alone.
"He really is a smart guy, he gets it right away. No wonder he noticed him," Lin Zixing muttered, raising his voice slightly. "Has Twenty-Three come back yet?"
A voice from the shadows replied, "Not yet."
Indeed, it would be unreasonable to ask him to return so soon after leaving the capital. “I will inform my third young master’s residence that I will visit him during dinner time.”
The guard quickly agreed, "Yes."
...
Now that Gu An'an knew that the Chen family was the ones who were secretly causing trouble, she felt relieved.
Man Niang, however, seemed unsure of what to do. "Why don't we stick to the original plan and have other people in the capital vote?"
Since the embroidery workshop isn't cooperating, then we won't contact anyone from the embroidery workshop.
If this place won't keep me, there are always other places that will; there's always another way.
"Okay, let's post the rules for our competition when we get back. We'll start officially registering and submitting entries tomorrow, with the deadline being November 8th."
Gu An'an didn't want to drag things out for too long, and she figured she should be heading back around mid-November anyway.
"Alright, that's settled then. By the way, Master, should we also send a separate copy to Princess Linglong?"
That young princess was an extremely spoiled person, but she was also very naive. Although she complained, she took a lot of things with her when she left.
In theory, we should have notified them.
"It is necessary to say so."
Gu An'an was thinking of going there herself, but before she could even visit the princess's residence, Princess Linglong came over and yelled, "I'm so angry! What is Chen Bei? Does he really think I've made a decision for him?"
The spoiled royal princess was so angry that she grabbed a plush toy from the shop and threw it on the ground.
It's fortunate that it's a rag doll; otherwise, if it were porcelain, it would probably be covered in broken pieces.
Man Niang was busy in the shop when she saw this person taking his anger out on a doll. She was a little annoyed but didn't dare to say anything. Gu An'an, however, came over when she saw this and asked, "What's wrong?"
She asked gently, bending down to pick up the dolls one by one and dusting off non-existent dust. "It was Chen Bei who offended the princess. If you can't stand him, go to your uncle the emperor and complain to him so that the emperor can deal with him. Why are you picking on my dolls?"
Princess Linglong was clearly furious at the moment, and it was not a good time for her to speak up for Chen Bei.
Gu An'an knew when to say what, so she chose to escalate the matter, saying, "When the time comes, let the Emperor cut off his head to avenge the princess. Why get so angry and hurt yourself?"
Princess Linglong's heart trembled upon hearing this. "How can you be even more ruthless than me?"
She burst into tears, crying, "What's wrong with me? Why doesn't Chen Bei like me? Can't I change?"
The usually spoiled girl was now in tears, looking very aggrieved. Seeing this, Gu An'an handed her a handkerchief and stuffed the doll in her hand into her arms.
"You, little yellow chick, you're making fun of me, aren't you?"
"It's not laughing at you, Princess. There's more than one Chen Bei in the world. If you give up this crooked tree, you might gain a whole forest."
A note from the author:
Linglong: You want me to keep male concubines? That's a bit exciting... emmm
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